Secrets in the Dark
by HollyJandHuddyfan
Summary: Rachel becomes sick and House is her treating doctor. It turns out that Rachel is hiding a collection of dark secrets and, as she reveals them, they bring House and Cuddy back together. Dedicated to LE in honor of her bday! 5/21/12
1. Chapter 1

12-year-old Rachel Cuddy woke up one morning with a sore throat and a runny nose. She didn't think much of it since February in New Jersey was the heart of cold and flu season. Rachel definitely wasn't going to make mention of this to her mom because she was trying to avoid the 'importance of getting a flu-shot' lecture. After almost half an hour of arguing, Cuddy finally gave in hoping to teach Rachel a lesson when she would inevitably catch the flu. Rachel put on a blue and white flannel shirt, a pair of jeans and her UGG boots. Then she headed into the kitchen. "Morning mom," Rachel said as she poured herself a glass of Orange Juice.

"Morning Hun," Cuddy said as she got her things together for work. "Are you feeling ok?" Cuddy asked in a concerned matter. Rachel had dark circles under her eyes and looked a little more pale than usual.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Rachel said. She took a sip of her OJ. "Seriously, mom, you worry way too much!"

"It's a mother's job to worry" Cuddy said as she sat down at the table. "You know, I hardly see you anymore. So how is everything?"

"Good."

"How are your classes going?"

"Ok. I have A's and B's I think."

"That's good. How are things with Annabell?"

"She's fine as far as I know" Rachel said.

"Anything in particular that you want to talk about?" Cuddy asked. Did she know? No, there was absolutely no way in hell that she could know. It was just her mom making small talk again in an attempt to 're-connect' with her.

"Not really," Rachel said. "How's work going?"

"Good," she replied. "I have a case against House though next week" Rachel looked up.

"House as in the guy that you pretend to hate, but secretly love?" Cuddy shot her a look. "Yep, this should definitely be interesting." Cuddy shook her head as her eyes fell on Rachel's glass of OJ.

"All you're having is OJ for breakfast? That's not enough."

"Don't you have to leave for work soon?" Rachel asked, trying to change the subject.

"I still have a few more minutes" Cuddy explained. "You're not anorexic, are you?" This time it was Rachel who shot the look.

"Do I look like I'm anorexic? Plus I'm happy with my current weight" Cuddy eyed her suspiciously.

"Then eat something so I don't spend the whole day worrying about you!"

"I'm not hungry!"

"Just have a yogurt or a cereal bar or something." Rachel got up and grabbed a granola bar out of the cabinet.

"Happy now?" Rachel sat down and tore the rapper off.

"After I see you finish it." Rachel groaned as she quickly ate the bar and washed it down with a large gulp of OJ. "Oh, I forgot to tell you," Cuddy added, "Mark is picking you up from school today. He'll drop you off here."

"Is he staying here or leaving after he drops me off?"

"Leaving as far as I know" Cuddy answered. "Why?"

"I'm just curious." That answer seemed to satisfy her.

"I'm going to head out now" Cuddy said as she got up and gave Rachel a quick goodbye kiss. "See you tonight, sweetie! Have a great day at school!"

"Thanks," Rachel called out as her mom shut the door behind her. To be honest, Rachel had more going on than she was leading her mom to believe. She had this nagging cough and sore throat for the better part of two weeks and now her side was hurting.

"Great! Now I'm becoming a hypochondriac, like my mom" Rachel thought to herself. "I probably just pulled a muscle while coughing." That seemed to put her worries to rest. She then got up, finished getting ready and walked to the bus stop.

"Hey, Rach!" her friend Annabell called out.

"Hey," Rachel said as she approached her friend.

"So what's happening?" Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

"Not much."

"How are you feeling?" Annabell asked.

"I'm getting worse" Rachel told her concerned friend. "But sometimes you have to get worse before you get better." Rachel really didn't want to talk about this.

"True," was all Annabell said. A minute later, the bus pulled up and the duo got on and found a seat.

"Hey, Rach, don't say anything, but I think Alex Garrison has a crush on you!" Annabell said once the bus had started moving.

"No way!" Rachel exclaimed. "He's the hottest guy in school! There's no way he'd want anything to do with 'plain-Jane' me."

"Sure he would," Annabell said. "Do you see the way he looks at you every time you walk by? I think he might ask you out to the Valentine's Day Dance."

"I doubt it" Rachel said as she took out her compact mirror and checked to see how she looked.

"Primping up for your lover?" Annabell asked in a mocking tone.

"Shut up!" Rachel giggled as she buried her face in her hands.

"Can't deny it" Annabell said. Rachel was about to shoot her a comeback when she suddenly felt a sharp, burning sensation in the middle of her abdomen. She doubled over in pain.

"Rach!" Annabell cried out. "What's wrong?"

"It's probably just that time of month" Rachel whispered, hoping that no one else heard her.

"I dunno," Annabell said. "Maybe you should go to the nurse's office when we get to school. We're just about there anyhow."

"Nah! I'm fine." Rachel assured her worried friend. "I'm probably really run-down from school, cheer practice, piano lessons and choir practice.

"Yeah, you do more than anyone else I know" Annabell pointed out.

"Not as much as my mom" Rachel said. "She's always busy with work and volunteering at the local health clinic. Sometimes too busy" she muttered.

"Now I see where you get it from!" They both laughed.

The bus stopped in front of the school and everyone got off. Rachel headed towards her locker. "See you at lunch!" Rachel called out. Annabell smiled and waved goodbye. Shortly after going to her locker, Rachel headed off to gym class. She got changed, but when she was about to walk out into the gym, she got nauseous and quickly ran into one of the bathroom stalls and locked the door behind her. Bent over the toilet, Rachel started coughing up some weird pinkish matter. The place where she had earlier felt the sharp pain was now burning, extending all the way to her back. Rachel sat in the bathroom stall and started crying. It hurt too much to move. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she mustered up the strength to get up and walk over to the nurse's office. When Rachel got there, she sat down in one of the blue plastic waiting chairs. Just then, the nurse walked out of one of the adjoining rooms, took one look at Rachel and came running over.

"Honey! You're all blotchy!" she exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"It hurts!" Rachel moaned.

"What hurts?" the nurse asked.

"My side. It hurts really badly!"

"Go lay down on the cot over there" the nurse instructed. A minute later, she came over with a thermometer and took Rachel's temperature. "101.3" she read aloud. "I'm calling your mom." Rachel didn't have it in her to protest. The thing is she felt guilty for having to make her mom leave work early because she could be spending this time working with a potential client.

Lisa Cuddy now worked as a Paralegal Representative for patient advocacy rights and her salary was based solely on commission. Rachel figured there was nothing she could do, so she laid back and closed her eyes. 20 minutes later, Cuddy was there.

"Where is she?" Rachel heard Cuddy ask. The nurse pointed into the room in which Rachel lay. "Honey! What's the matter?" Cuddy asked as she ran over and hugged her daughter.

"I'm fine, mom. I just think I need to sleep more."

"The nurse told me that your side hurts" Cuddy said. Rachel nodded. "Can you show me where exactly?"

"It's all along here" Rachel said as she ran her hand across the area. "I probably just pulled a muscle or something."

"Come on, Rachel!" Rachel got up and followed her. "I knew I should've listened to my gut and kept you home today" Cuddy said in an exacerbated tone as she signed Rachel out. "I'm making an appointment with the Pediatrician the second we get home." She grabbed her bag and walked out the door.

"It's no big deal" Rachel muttered as she followed closely behind. She didn't bother to say anymore because she knew that this was an argument she'd never win. The only person that she knew who was more stubborn than her mom was House himself.

Those two had the weirdest relationship. It seemed as if they found their disdain for one another romantic. Rachel had the routine down. Cuddy would usually go visit House at the hospital as he was always breaking some sort of rule and getting sued left and right. He would tell her how hot she looked when she was mad. Then he'd call her a couple of pet names. Cuddy would role her eyes, trying to keep her game face on. House would usually at that point come over and kiss her and she'd kiss him back. Quickly, then, she would resume the authoritative role by yelling at him for his arrogance and finally proceeding to leave, acting as if nothing had ever happened. Rachel had asked her mom if she liked House and the answer was always the same. "He's a good person for someone, but he isn't right for me". It wasn't until Rachel was 10 that she noticed that her mom never gave a definitive yes or no answer. Maybe he wasn't right for her, but that didn't mean that she still wasn't in love with the guy. When Rachel brought this up, all she got was "You're too young to understand right now".

Once they were home, Rachel went over to the couch, plopped herself down and turned on MTV. After about five minutes, that familiar queasy feeling came over her once more. Before Rachel could react, she got violently sick all over both the floor and herself. "I'm so sorry!" Rachel cried out, tears streaming down her face. "I'll clean it up!" She headed into the kitchen.

"What happened?" Cuddy asked, wondering what all the commotion was about. "I'm sorry. I tried to make it to the bathroom, but it just came up too fast."

"You puked?" Rachel nodded. Then she saw it. There was blood all over Rachel's hands and shirt. Cuddy grabbed Rachel's hands as she stared down at them in horror. Then she quickly let them go. "Did you have blood come up?" Rachel nodded.

"Just like this morning at school. Though, maybe it wasn't blood, but instead something I ate. I'm sure I'm fine. I just need to get some sleep before I cheer at tonight's game."

"Absolutely not!" Cuddy forcefully told her. "You are not going to any game tonight. Not in this condition. You're very sick. Forget about calling the doctor. I need to get you to the hospital pronto!"

"Can we just wait a couple of minutes and…" Rachel started to say, but then she started coughing really hard and more blood came up. It was too late. Cuddy had already called 911.

"I feel tired" Rachel said once her mom was off the phone. "Can't I just lie down for a few minutes?"

"Rachel, don't go to sleep" Cuddy instructed. "I'll get you some water." Rachel gulped. She didn't want her mom to find out about her secret and she worried that, if she went to the hospital, she would be exposed for what she really was. Nobody knew her secret. Not even Annabell. Cuddy came back into the living room and handed her the glass of water. "Rachel, talk to me. Say anything."

"I'm tired! Why can't I go to sleep?" she complained.

"You lost a lot of blood" Cuddy explained. "That's why you need to get to the hospital now. If you fall asleep, there's a chance you may fall into a coma."

"Oh, um…ok" Rachel started to say, but she was interrupted by the wailing sound of an ambulance siren. Some men came into the house, strapped her down onto a gurney and loaded her into the back of an ambulance. Rachel was terrified. This was all happening so fast. She was being hooked up to a bunch of machines. "Wait! What are you doing?" Rachel cried out.

"Relax, no one's going to hurt you" one of the paramedics said.

"Like I've never heard that one before" Rachel muttered under her breath. The paramedic grabbed her arm and was about to stick an IV in when Rachel screamed, "No! Stop it! Don't touch me!" She sat up and tried to push him away. He pushed her back down and put restraints around both her wrists and ankles. Then he proceeded to put the IV into her arm. Cuddy stared at Rachel in disbelief. Rachel was always fearless, sometimes too fearless for her own good.

"Rachel," Cuddy said in a stern, but calm tone. "Relax. Let the man do his job!" She turned towards the paramedic. "Really! You think it's necessary to restrain a 12-year-old girl? Why don't you just put her into a drug-induced coma while you're at it?"

"Mom!" Rachel cried out in agony.

"Kidding, honey. Just kidding" Cuddy said as she got up and walked over in order to comfort her daughter. Cuddy was about to hold Rachel's hand when she noticed a bruise on the side of her neck. "Wait! What's this?" Rachel's heart began to race. She had to make something up in order to keep her mom from finding out the truth. "Rachel, where did this bruise on your neck come from?"

"Oh, that" Rachel said. She hesitated for a moment. "Well, um, you see…"

"The truth, please!" Cuddy said, her voice sounding angrier this time.

"I tripped and the corner of my dresser hit me in the neck" she quickly said hoping that her mom would buy that story. Cuddy nodded.

"You should be more careful" she said not totally convinced that Rachel was telling the truth.

"I guess I'm at that age where I'm just very clumsy" Rachel added with a giggle.

"Maybe," Cuddy said. "When I was your age, I was tripping and spraining my ankle almost every other week."

"Really?" Rachel asked. "No offense mom, but I feel way better about myself now." Cuddy just smirked. Rachel was just happy that she had avoided having to tell her mom the truth.

The ambulance than arrived at the hospital and she was rushed into a room as Cuddy followed close behind. "Mommy, please don't leave me!" Rachel called out.

"I promise I won't" Cuddy assured her. Once they got to the room a nurse took a vile of blood and left.

"What was that for?" Rachel asked. "Why'd she take blood?"

"Standard procedure" Cuddy explained. "They screen everyone who comes in here for drugs and STD's automatically. I know you don't have a problem with either, though" she added. Rachel just nodded. The next few minutes were so silent that it was deafening. Rachel stared up at the ceiling and Cuddy was checking and responding to her text messages. The door opened and a man barged right in. Cuddy couldn't believe her eyes. It was Dr. Gregory House!

"Your daughter has Syphilis" he said in a very-matter-a-fact tone. Cuddy was pissed.

"How dare you!" she screamed at him. "How can you accuse a sick 12-year-old girl, and a virgin at that, of having an STD?" House ignored her and walked over to the side of the bed.

"So, just how many guys have you slept with?" he asked Rachel.

"None! I've never even had a boyfriend."

"Come on! Mommy works late. You have raging hormones and no adult supervision" House said. Tears formed in Rachel's eyes. "So, did you do the nasty at your place or his?"

"Enough, House!" Cuddy angrily interjected.

"Suit yourself" House said as he handed Cuddy a copy of the lab report, which she proceeded to read.

"Oh my God! It does say that you have Syphilis. House! Whose test results did you swap Rachel's with?"

"Why do you think I would do that?" House asked in a mocking tone.

"Because you're cunning like that. And because it's your convoluted way of trying to get me back. It's not working, House!"

"You know, you get so hot when you're pissed" House said as he waltzed over to Cuddy. He focused in on her cleavage acting like the boys at Rachel's middle school. "I bet tonight, after a couple of drinks, you and me…"

"House!" Cuddy interjected. She pointed towards her daughter.

"Yeah, I see you brought the little parasite with you."

"That's not what I meant. Try and keep all the conversations G-rated."

"Sure, ruin all my fun" House whined.

"Why do you guys insult each other all the time if you're in love?" Rachel blurted out.

"Honey, I think you have the wrong idea" Cuddy said.

"It's more passionate this way" House said. "Heated debates often lead to the bedroom where we…"

"House!" Cuddy interrupted. "Focus. Rachel is sick. Either help her or send someone else in who will."

"Fine," House muttered.

"Wait, you were always over when I was little and then you stopped coming over" Rachel pointed out. "Why is that?"

"What do you think happened? We broke up!" House answered sarcastically.

"You know," Rachel said to House. "I don't remember mommy really dating much, if at all, after you left which is why I think you two still like each other."

"Well, we like parts of each other" House said.

"Oh for God's sake" Cuddy interjected. "She's only 12-years-old."

"So you guys…you" Rachel started to say, but couldn't get the words out. "Were you together before I was born?"

"What's with the interrogation?" House sassily asked.

"I have a right to know about my past!" Rachel looked at both of them as she said this.

"House, I think you were leaving now" Cuddy urged.

"What? But it was just getting to the good part!" House whined.

"General Hospital is on" Cuddy said. "Go watch that and then we'll talk." House laid down his cane and sat in a chair as he turned on the TV. "I didn't mean here!" she said, but House ignored her.

"See, that's what your mom and I used to be like" he told Rachel during a make-out scene between two of the doctors. He turned towards Cuddy.

"House! Out! Now!" Cuddy opened the door and ushered him out before promptly shutting the door behind him. This episode was followed by a sudden wave of silence. Her secret was out. It was written on that lab report in black and white. But it didn't tell the whole story. Still, Rachel was afraid of her mom hating her and disowning her if she ever found out the rest of the truth. That is, if she believed her in the first place. Rachel pulled the covers over her head so her mom wouldn't be able to see her cry.

"Mark!" she whispered. "Mark did this to me" Rachel wiped away her tears and peeked out from under the covers. Cuddy was staring down at the lab report, looking very distraught.

"Three times" Cuddy thought aloud. "Three times they tested it and three times it came back positive." Cuddy knew that the chances of a false-positive coming back three times was less than 1 percent. Was her daughter really having unprotected sex at such a young age or was this just another cruel trick that House was playing on her? Feeling uneasy, she got up and walked over to her daughter's bedside.

"Rachel, honey, look at me" Cuddy said. Rachel turned towards her. "I need you to be honest with me, okay?" Rachel nodded. "Is there anything you want to tell me? Any secrets you've been keeping? I won't get mad. I promise." Rachel wanted to believe that, she really did, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell her mom the truth.

"There's nothing," Rachel lied. "Everything's fine."

"Sure?" Cuddy asked. Rachel nodded. "Have you…have you ever had sex?" It was a lot harder to ask her daughter this than some random patient with whom she had no personal relationship with.

"No!" Rachel exclaimed. "I've never even kissed a boy!"

"Well, promise me that you'll come to me before you do take that big step, okay?" Rachel nodded. "Okay, then" Cuddy said.

The memories came rushing back with a vengeance. Rachel could feel his hand sliding under her shirt and traveling upwards as he undid her bra.

"Shh! Its ok, Rachel. Relax. No one is going to hurt you."

"Rachel?" Cuddy called out abruptly brining her back to her senses. "I have to go back to work now, but I asked the nurse to page me if anything comes up" Cuddy told her. Rachel hated that her mom worked so much because they hardly got to spend any time together. She was either working or too tired from work to carry out a conversation beyond the point of saying, "Hi, honey! How was your day?" A few times she had actually dozed off while Rachel was talking to her. This morning had been one of the few exceptions. Rachel figured that Cuddy saw the disappointment on her face because she promised Rachel that she'd come back the second she got off work.

"Okay, bye mommy!" Rachel said as Cuddy gave her a quick kiss goodbye and then left. Once she was sure that she was alone, Rachel grabbed the pad and pen that lay on the night table next to her. She took a deep breath and began to write.

I feel so dirty. He makes me feel so dirty. Was I raped? Does it still count as rape even though I didn't stop him from injecting that sedative into my neck? I'm afraid of needles now. Can't even get a shot without mommy holding my hand. I feel really bad for lying to mommy, but how can I tell her that her childhood best friend has been doing this to her daughter for almost 1 year now? How do I even know that she'd believe me? Mark's the nicest guy when mommy's home. He stops by and sometimes brings over a delicious home cooked meal; a nice change from the frozen TV dinners that we're used to having. I guess this is the price I have to pay, huh? You see, I can't say or do anything for mommy's sake. She relies on him to babysit me, run errands for her and just as someone to talk to when she's sad or angry about something. How can I take that away from her? As Mark puts it, "this is a very small price for you to pay considering all that I do for you and your mom." I feel so confused right now. What do I do? I hate being alone with him, but I don't have a choice. Do I? I have to suck it up, grin it and bear it. I have to be strong for mommy. Even if it hurts me.

Rachel was surprised with how much better she felt after writing all of this down. She folded the note twice, placed it on the night table next to her and fell asleep. When she woke up a few hours later, she saw her mom standing outside of her room talking on her cell phone. Rachel couldn't make out what her mom was saying, but she could tell that her mom was very upset about something. Cuddy glanced into the room and saw that Rachel was awake. "I'll call you back later" Cuddy told the person on the other end of the line. "Sounds good. Okay! Bye, now." She put her cell phone back into her purse and walked in. For a moment, Cuddy was speechless. Than tears began to form in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, honey" she said, running over and hugging her daughter. " House showed me the note. Why didn't you tell me? I would have believed you" Cuddy said, feeling hurt that Rachel didn't trust her enough to come forward with this all the times she had asked if something was bothering her. Yet, she knew that you couldn't force a rape victim to come forward before they were ready.

"House showed you the note" Rachel clarified. Cuddy nodded. This confirmed her theory that they still cared for one another. "Where is he now?"

"The thing is," Cuddy started to say. "Well, he decided to go over to Mark's house and teach him a lesson. That didn't work out too well because he got arrested for assault and trespassing." Rachel's eyes widened.

"Because of me. It's my fault he's in jail." Cuddy shook her head.

"No, it's not. And Mark had it coming to him. I swear to God, I'm not letting that…that ass anywhere near you ever again!"

"But he has a spare key to our house" Rachel reminded Cuddy.

"I know" Cuddy responded. "How do you feel about staying at grandma's house for a few days while mommy takes care of some things?" Cuddy asked.

"I like grandma's house" Rachel said cheerfully. "And I can walk to school from there, right?" Cuddy nodded.

"That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about" Cuddy said. "Your illness is still in the very early stages and you just need to take an oral antibiotic for 2 weeks. They'll be releasing you a little later. Still, I can't imagine how scary it must have been for you to go through all of this. If you want, you can take the rest of the week off and I can see if your teachers will send home all of your missed work. How does that sound?"

"No. I want to see my friends" Rachel said. "Plus it'll be good for me to get out and take my mind off everything."

"I'm so proud of you" Cuddy told Rachel as she lightly stroked her forehead. "You're such a strong, smart, sweet and brave girl. Rachel smiled. "Don't worry; we'll get through this together."

"Thanks" Rachel said as Cuddy got back up. "Um…mom?" Cuddy turned around. "I know I'm adopted and all, but you're like a real mom to me. I don't ever think of myself as being adopted. I feel like I belong here."

"Good," Cuddy said. "I am so happy to hear that."

Suddenly Cuddy's cellphone began to vibrate. She took it out and answered it. "Dr. Lisa Cuddy. Oh, hi mom! How are you? Good. Okay. See you in a few. Love you too. Bye, now!" Cuddy put her phone away and looked at Rachel. "That was grandma. She's leaving her house now and should be here in 25-30 minutes depending on traffic. I'm going to pick-up your prescription from the pharmacy and fill out the paperwork to release you." Cuddy started to leave. Then she stopped and pivoted back around. "Wait! Are you okay with being alone for a few minutes?" Rachel nodded. "I'll be back soon" Cuddy assured her. She walked out of the room and Rachel stared up at the ceiling. She was happy that her mom finally knew what Mark was doing to her, yet she feared that Mark would try and hurt her now that he knew she had told. A couple of minutes later, Cuddy came back in.

"Rachel, you have a visitor" Cuddy announced as Annabell walked in.

"Hey, Rach!" Annabell said. "I got this for you" she said as she handed Rachel a teddy bear and a get well card.

"Aww. Thank you so much! It's so cute!" Rachel exclaimed. "If I didn't have an IV in my arm, I would totally get up and hug you right now" Annabell came over and gave Rachel a quick hug.

"Oh, we got our report cards during last period. Ms. Waldron let me take yours so I could give it to you."

"Oh, God!" Rachel said. "I'm like so nervous right now."

"Why? You're like the smartest person I know! I'm sure you got all A's."

"I hope, but I'm not really all that smart." Rachel said. "If I were smart, I wouldn't have let Mark do what he did over and over again. You'd think I'd learn after a while. That I'd fight back. But I was too stupid!" she started to cry.

"No," Annabell said. "You were scared not stupid."

"Then why'd I let him stick a needle in my neck? I hate myself!" She buried her face in her hands and started to cry. Annabell looked up at Cuddy, unsure of what to do or say. Cuddy walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Annabell is right. You were scared. But you were also confused. Being confused is a lot different than being stupid. Someone you trusted violated you and hurt you. You are a great person who has so much to offer to the world. And I'm not just saying that because I'm your mom. I'm saying it because it's the truth" Cuddy wiped away Rachel's tears. "Take a deep breath." Rachel did.

"Then why do I feel like this is my entire fault?"

"That's what criminals do" Annabell said. "They convince the victim it's their fault so they can get away with the crime. It's all an act they put on." Cuddy nodded.

"It is" Cuddy agreed. Rachel smiled.

"Thanks guys!"

"So are you going to open your report card or what?" Annabell asked as she gave it to Rachel. Rachel tore it open. "So?" Annabell anxiously asked. Rachel read out her grades:

Biology (– A)

Pre-Algebra (A)

Gym (A)

English (B)

American History (B+)

Spanish 1 (B+)

"Congratulations, Rachel!" Cuddy said. "I'm proud of you." She got up and walked over to where Annabell was.

"You did better than me" Annabell said. "I got 1 A, 1B+, 3 B's and 1C"

"That's still good" Rachel said. Annabell smiled.

"Thanks!" She checked her phone. "My mom just texted me. We have to get going. I'll see you around, though."

"Okay, and thanks again for the get well gifts!"

"No prob" Annabell said as she walked out the door.

"That was nice of her" Cuddy said. "Annabell is a great friend." Rachel nodded in agreement. "I want you to call me as soon as you get to grandma's house, okay?" Rachel nodded. "And my phone's on. Call or txt any time of day or night and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can".

"Okay, mommy" A minute later, Rachel's grandma came in with a nurse who took the IV out of her arm and put a bandage on it. Rachel ran over and gave Cuddy a goodbye hug.

"Don't forget to call" Cuddy called out as Rachel and her grandma were leaving. Cuddy smiled as she saw Rachel showing her grandma the teddy bear. Rachel looked back once more and smiled at Cuddy before they turned the corner and were out of sight.


	2. Chapter 2

**SCENE 1:**

Rachel had just gotten home from school. Well, to her grandma's house, but that was going to have to be her home for now. Cuddy was busy working on getting Rachel an order of protection against Mark, having all of the locks at home changed and working over-time so she could afford a good attorney. Even so, Rachel was a little hurt that her mom didn't even bother to call her once in the three days that she had been away. Trying to shrug it off, Rachel went upstairs and threw her backpack against the wall before climbing into bed. The vomiting had ceased and her stomach pains were starting to go away, but now Rachel had a startling new symptom. Both her ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton and it were getting harder and harder for her to hear. Not wanting to worry her mom or grandma, Rachel decided to keep quiet and hid the problem as best as she could. Rachel turned on her phone and smiled when she saw there was a text from her mom. She opened it:

So sorry I haven't called sooner.

How is everything? BTW, I'm picking you up

from school early 2morow so I can take you

to the doctor.

The doctor? Rachel wondered why on Earth her mom wanted to take her to the doctor? Rachel sent back a text asking about this. Five minutes later she got a response:

There's a slight

possibility that this antibiotic

can cause hearing loss, even deafness (although

that's rare). How r u feeling?

Rachel gulped! Is this what was causing her sudden hearing problems? Was she going to lose her hearing forever?

Mom? If it does hurt my

hearing, will I ever get

it back?

Rachel's heart sank when she saw the word "NO" pop up on her screen. Tears formed in Rachel's eyes. She texted her mom the following:

Where r u and r u busy?

A minute later her phone rang. "Hello" Rachel answered.

"Honey, its mommy"

"Can you hold on one second?" Rachel asked. She couldn't hear anything and had to turn the volume up all the way. "Ok, I'm back".

"Is everything ok?" Rachel hesitated before deciding that she should tell her mom the truth. After all, her mom would find out about it at the doctor's office anyway because chances were she wasn't going to pass the hearing test.

"It's…it's just that…I don't know how to say this" Rachel muttered.

"Just close your eyes and tell me" Cuddy suggested. Rachel did.

"My hearing's gotten a lot worse over the past few days" Rachel quickly spit out. "I had to turn the volume all of the way up on my phone in order to make out what you're saying. I'm scared, Mom".

"I'll be there in an hour, ok" Cuddy said in a loud and slow voice, hoping that Rachel would understand what she was saying.

"Ok!" Rachel exclaimed. "Bye mommy!"

"Bye, now!" Rachel hung up and decided to do her homework while she waited for her mom to come over. She had 20 math problems to solve, a 2 page English essay to write and 30 Spanish words to memorize. Rachel decided to knock out the Math problems first.

"_Caught in a bad romance. I want your love, love, love, love. I want your love_ert is fried. I just can'll the time. now playing a Ke$ha song. English essay. "" Rachel sang along with her iPod as she solved quadratic equations. 15 minutes later, Rachel was done. She decided to go out for a quick walk before starting her English essay. "Bye grandma!" Rachel said as she waltzed out the front door. She didn't know whether or not her grandma was home, but always said hello and goodbye just to be safe.

Her iPod was now playing a Ke$ha song. Rachel sang along with it as she walked down the street. "_What you've got boy is hard to find. I think about it all the time. I'm all strung out; my heart is fried. I just can't get you off my mind_!" Out of the blue, Rachel got a chill up her spine. Someone or something grabbed her. She just froze as the thing threw her into a car.

"Bitch!" Rachel knew that voice. It was Mark. "I'll teach you to tell on me. You thought you had it bad before? Well that was heaven compared to what you're about to get." He climbed into the backseat next to Rachel and pushed her down. Rachel tried to kick him in the face, but he grabbed her ankle and thrust it backwards.

"I'm sorry!" Rachel cried with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me!"

"You're not as sorry as you are about to be!" he sneered as he started to un-do her blouse. Rachel tried hitting him, but he began to choke her. "We can either do this the easy way or the hard way." Rachel closed her eyes and he released his grip from her throat. "I knew you'd come around" he said. "Don't worry. It'll be over before you know it." Rachel gulped. She didn't know what to do next.

The next few minutes seemed like an eternity in hell to her. When Mark was finally done, he grabbed Rachel's wrist. "See this?" he asked, pulling out a gun. Nervously, Rachel nodded. "If you tell anyone about this and I mean anyone, I will blow your fucking brains out! Understand?" Rachel nodded. "Good! Now get out of my car you stupid bitch." Rachel did as she was told and walked home, still in utter shock over what had just happened. When Rachel approached the house, she saw Cuddy's car in the driveway. Rachel just stood in the driveway, frozen with fear and humiliation. After a couple of minutes, she managed to walk inside and locked the door behind her. Rachel slid down against the door and began to cry.

"Rachel, is that you?" Cuddy called out, but Rachel didn't answer. "Rachel, I'm sorry I'm late. I was just…" Cuddy stopped in her tracks when she saw Rachel sobbing by the front door. Her blouse was undone in some spots, her hair was a mess and she had a bruise on her left wrist. "Oh my God!" Cuddy exclaimed as she ran over. "What happened?" Rachel looked up at her. "Can you hear me? Nod if you can hear me." Rachel nodded. "Good!" Cuddy said as she helped Rachel up off the floor and over to the couch. "Now, tell me, what happened?" Rachel felt sick to her stomach. She wanted to tell her mom, she really did, but the image of Mark's gun flashed in her mind and she decided it was best to remain silent. "Rachel, I can't help you if you don't talk to me." Cuddy put her arm around the fragile girl's shoulders. "Please, sweetie. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"That's what you said at the hospital" Rachel protested. "You said he wouldn't come near me again and…"Rachel's voice trailed off. She couldn't tell her mom. No! She was not ready to die. After all, if her mom failed to protect her once, who was to say if wouldn't happen again and this time she could lose her life for it.

"And what?" Cuddy asked, fearing the worst.

"It's nothing!" Rachel said as she started to get up. Cuddy grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down onto the couch. Rachel closed her eyes and began to scream. "No! Don't touch me. Leave me alone!" Tears poured out of her eyes and rolled down her face. They stung her chapped lips.

"What is it? What happened?" Cuddy asked, demanding an answer. Rachel wiped away her tears and quickly re-gained her composure.

"Nothing" Rachel said. "It's nothing. I'm hungry. Can you make me dinner, please?"

"Rachel, don't stray off topic" Cuddy said, sounding more like a professional and less like a mother.

"But I'm hungry, mommy!" Rachel whined.

"Fine. I'll make you a Grilled Cheese" Cuddy relented. "But only if you tell me what happened to you." Rachel sighed.

"Never mind" she moaned. "I'll make it myself!"

"Rachel, I…" Cuddy started to say, but Rachel was already in the kitchen. Rachel opened up the kitchen draw and took out a paring knife. Crying, she sat down against the wall and pressed the blade deep into her flesh and she kept pushing down until she saw blood. Slowly, she dragged the blade across her skin. Rachel winced as she did this. It hurt like hell, but it was a different kind of hurt, one that Rachel actually found herself enjoying. She lifted up the blade and wiped the blood off with her shirt. Rachel was grateful that she decided to wear a black top today as it wouldn't show any blood stains. Mesmerized, Rachel sat there as she watched the blood slowly trickle down her arm and splash onto the tile floor. It was so relaxing and she could feel herself finally forgetting about Mark. For once, she was in control of the pain she felt.

After a few minutes of pure silence, Cuddy decided to get up and check on Rachel. She walked into the kitchen and, to her horror; Rachel was slicing away at her own skin. "Rachel!" Cuddy screamed as she ran over and knelt down beside her daughter. "Sweetie, give me the knife. Please!" Rachel dropped it onto the floor without bothering to look up. "What's going on with you?" Cuddy asked sounding half angry and half concerned. "And I don't want to hear 'nothing' because I know it's something." Rachel stayed silent. "Rachel, look at me!" Nervously, Rachel glanced up. "I'm calling a therapist first thing in the morning!"

"No!" Rachel cried out. "I promise I won't do it again."

"You need to talk to someone!" Cuddy told her. "And if it isn't going to be me, than I want to find you someone that you feel comfortable opening up to."

"Why are you mad at me?" Rachel whispered as her whole body tensed up.

"I'm not mad. I'm just really worried about you" Cuddy said in a much calmer tone of voice.

"I want to tell you" Rachel said.

"Then why don't you?"

"It's not worth losing my life over!" Cuddy looked confused for a minute. Then something clicked.

"Did Mark ever threaten you in any way?" After a moment's hesitation, Rachel slowly nodded. "When?" Rachel took a deep breath.

"Today. A little while ago. After he…he grabbed me and…he pushed me into the back seat of his car…and he…he raped me and then showed me his gun. Said if I ever told anyone he'd…he'd…he'd blow my brains out!" Cuddy stood there in shock. "Now he's going to kill me since I told!"

No, he's not!" Cuddy assured her. "Why don't you come back home with me, tonight? All of the locks are changed. I'll make sure that all the doors and windows are locked and the alarm is set." Rachel contemplated the idea. "I'm going to drive you to school every day and pick you up and you are not to go outside, not even on the driveway, without a responsible adult present. And no, House is not a responsible adult." Rachel giggled.

"How'd you know I was going to ask that?" Cuddy smiled.

"A mother always knows" was all she said.

**SCENE 2:**

It was 6pm and House had just finished getting booked down at the local police precinct. "What the hell has happened to our country when a rapist walks free, but a cripple acting in self-defense gets arrested?" House shouted as they threw him into a cell.

"Going over to someone else's house and hitting them over the head with a cane while accusing them of something that they were not found guilty of is considered assault, not self-defense" the guard said as he walked away.

"Damn legal system" House muttered under his breath.

"So, what are you in for?" his cell mate asked.

"None of your damn business" House said as he sat down on the slate of cement they called a bed.

"Whoa, man! I was just asking. My name's Walter, but everyone in here calls me Scarface".

"Hi, I'm Greg, but everyone calls me House" House said in a mildly sarcastic tone. "How'd you get the name Scarface?"

"Got into a fight with another inmate. I got a bad-ass scar across my cheek, but they were the one who ended up with a broken clavicle. How'd you get the name House?"

"It's my last name."

"No really?" Scarface asked as he jabbed house in the arm.

"No, really that's my last name" House explained. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to lay here and drown in my own self-pity." Scarface shot him a look.

"Baby," he muttered, but House ignored him. House set his cane beside the bed, climbed into the bed and was fast asleep by the time his head hit the pillow. House awoke with a headache the next day. He got up, got dressed and walked over to the bars.

"Hey, guard!" House shouted as he banged his cane on the metal bars. The guard looked over at him. "How about some grub. I'm starving!"

"Sorry, sweetheart, you slept through breakfast."

"Well, when's lunch?" House whined.

"Not for another 2 hours" the guard answered. "But I have something to keep you busy until then." The guard escorted House out of his cell and down the hall. Finally they reached the kitchen. "You're doing dishes until lunchtime. There are the dirty dishes. They go into this bucket of soapy water, than you rinse them and dry them and then put them over on that table. Stack them. Biggest on the bottom and smallest on the top. Get moving!" And with that the guard left. Begrudgingly, House began the task at hand. After a few minutes of soaping up dishes, he noticed that the guard accidently left the door open.

"This is way too easy" House thought to himself. He took off the netted cap, grabbed his cane and hobbled towards the door.

"Not so fast" the guard said as he tried to hobble out. "You really think I'm stupid enough to leave the door open for you while leaving you unattended." House shrugged. "Get back to work!" he shouted. House gave him a look. The guard grabbed him and cuffed his ankle to a table leg forcing House finish up the tedious task at hand. After a couple of hours, he was finally released from kitchen duty and escorted to the cafeteria where he was told to wait in line. "No talking and no pushing" the guard told him. "Your plate will be made up for you and we will tell you where to sit. You are to finish everything on your plate and are not to get up without permission. Is that understood?" House nodded. "Good!" After two hours of Kitchen Duty, House was never going to complain about doing Clinic Duty ever again. Well, at least not for the first two hours.

Lunch that day was a slab of tough meat on a piece of stale bread, 3 scoops of peas and a glass of tap water. House sat down and stared at the piece of leather sitting on top of a rock. He nudged the guy sitting next to him. "Hey, you want seconds?" he whispered.

"What are you kidding me?" the guy whispered back. "I don't even want firsts!"

"Figures," House muttered under his breath. The rest of the day consisted of two hours of hard physical activity, an additional hour of Kitchen Duty, eating dinner (PBJ on stale toast, a bruised mushy apple and a glass of tap water) and going to bed. Over the next two days he went through this same monotonous routine. During his fourth day behind bars, House had just finished having breakfast when a guard walked over to him.

"You've got visitors" the guard said as he handcuffed House's hands. "Follow me!" House followed the guard down a maze of halls until they finally reached a room. The guard took out his key and opened the door. House walked in and saw Cuddy sitting at a table with Rachel.

"House!" Rachel exclaimed. She went to run over but Cuddy pulled her arm and sat her back down.

"You can't do that here, remember. The guard said no hugs." Rachel frowned. She perked up again after House was un-cuffed and sat down across from her and Cuddy.

"Hi House!" Rachel said beaming. "How are you?"

"I'm in jail. How do you think I am?" House said half-jokingly. "They make me do 3 hours of Kitchen Duty every day. That's even worse than Clinic Duty and I didn't think it was possible to experience anything worse." Cuddy let out a laugh. "You think that's funny?"

"I better not hear any more complaining out of you about having to do Clinic Duty, then" she told him.

"But you're not my boss anymore. You can't tell me what to do!" House whined.

"That's a nice way to treat the person who's about to bail you out!" House felt a pang of guilt, but he didn't want it to show. "$1,500 House! And they want it all in cash. So I suggest you treat me with a bit more respect."

"Yes, mommy" House said as he pretended to pout.

"Guess what, House?" Rachel chirped.

"What?"

"I got hearing aids" she said showing them to House. "Mommy took me to the doctor yesterday. He said that my hearing wasn't too bad, but that I still needed them."

"Cool" House said. "But it's still not as cool as my cane". Rachel laughed.

"Yeah, but now I can hear everything you say. You'll never know when I'll be eavesdropping on you" Rachel joked.

"Yeah, but I can use my cane to reach things on high shelves, trip people and whack them too" House said with a phony smile. "So, why'd you need the hearing aids, anyway?"

"The antibiotic caused me to lose my hearing. The doctor took me off of that and gave me another one."

"It's less potent" Cuddy interjected. "But the side-effects are much less risky. The worst one for this antibiotic is an upset stomach." House nodded.

"Mark came after me again" Rachel blurted out. House looked at Rachel, then at Cuddy and back over again at Rachel again.

"Did he now?" Rachel nodded. "Well, I guess someone's going to have to teach him a lesson."

"House don't!" Rachel begged. "I don't want you going back to jail. Please! Mommy said I just need to have an adult with me whenever I leave the house."

"Did Mommy remember to take Mark off the school's emergency contact list so he can't come and pick you up whenever he wants?"

"Shit!" Cuddy muttered under her breath. "I'll change it first thing Monday morning. Don't worry, honey. He won't be coming anywhere near you." She turned towards House. "In fact, our lawyer got Rachel a restraining order which I'll be picking up this afternoon which reminds me, I need to you watch Rachel while I'm gone."

"Oh, come on!"

"It's either this or stay in jail!" Cuddy shot back. House nodded.

"Fine!" he said with a strong tone of reluctance in his voice.

"Don't you like me, House?" Rachel whined.

"Remember the last time when I watched you and you made me drive you to that stupid party and then you threw up all over my motorcycle because you thought it would be fun to mix Vodka and Xanax?" House said. "Not going there again!"

"When was this?" Cuddy interjected. "And why didn't I ever hear about it?"

"Two months ago" House told her. Rachel shot him the look of death. "Apparently her friend Mandy has an older brother who was throwing a big party and Rachel was invited. Rachel, desperate to fit in with all these other idiots, took 10 Xanax's and washed them down with 4 shots of Vodka." Cuddy glared at Rachel.

"You could've killed yourself! Do you know that?" Cuddy shouted. "What drugs have you done since then?"

"None" Rachel protested. "It was a onetime thing!" Cuddy shook her head. "No, really, it was."

"I know what this was" Cuddy said. "It was a cry for help. I'm calling a therapist on Monday no if's and's or buts about it." Rachel glanced over at House.

"You just had to tell her" Rachel moaned. "You just had to tell her!"

"That brings me to my second point! Why didn't you tell me about this until now?" Cuddy pressed.

"She told me not to!"

"Oh! She told you not to!" Cuddy said with fury. "Since when do you listen to anybody?" House didn't say anything. "Rachel, we're going home. House I'm posting your bail on the way out. You can call a cab for all I care, but you are not coming with us! And don't worry about watching Rachel later. I'll bring her with me!" With that said, Cuddy turned and left. Rachel stood there and smiled at House. She gave him a wave goodbye. "Rachel!" Cuddy shouted. Rachel quickly followed. Cuddy posted his bail and then the two of them got into Cuddy's car. The rest of the ride home was pure silence. Rachel wanted to say something to her mother and prove to her that this wasn't her fault, but she was too scared to utter a single word.


	3. Chapter 3

**SCENE 1:**

"What the hell were you thinking?" Cuddy shouted as Rachel sat down on the couch and nervously watched her mom quickly pace back and forth across the living room floor. "Didn't you ever listen to a word I said about NOT drinking and NOT doing drugs?" Tears started to form in Rachel's eyes. "Look, I'm sorry if I sound mean right now" Cuddy said, noticing her daughters tears. "I don't mean to be. I'm just really concerned about you." Cuddy sat down next to Rachel and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Now, I need you to be honest with me. Have you done any drugs or had an alcoholic beverage of any kind since that party?" Rachel gulped as she stared down at the ground. "Rachel, honey, I won't get mad. I just have to know how to help you."

"Why should I trust you?" Rachel snapped, looking her mom straight in the eye. "You got mad just now. You promised that Mark wouldn't hurt me again. You promised you'd call me back the first night I got to grandma's house."

"I know," Cuddy said. "And I'm sorry. But I'm here now and I want to help. You've seen what has happened when you've tried to handle all of this on your own. You need help. Please, let me be the one to help you." Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Why don't we finish this conversation later?" Cuddy suggested. Rachel seemed relieved with this suggestion. "Do you want to call up Annabell and see if she wants to come over?" Rachel nodded.

"Okay! I'll call her right now." She took out her Blackberry and called Annabell up. "Oh, that's too bad" Cuddy heard Rachel say. "No, it's fine. I get it. I'll see you on Monday. Bye" Rachel seemed so forlorn as she hung up the phone. Cuddy looked at her with deep concern in her eyes. Unable to contain herself any longer, Rachel ran into her mother's embracing arms and began to cry.

"It's okay, sweetie" Cuddy said as she lightly stroked her daughter's wavy chestnut hair. "I'm here for you."

"Annabell's mom think's I'm a slut and said she's not allowed to hang out with me anymore" Rachel sobbed. "I hate myself. I was stupid and now I lost my best friend for it." Cuddy was furious with Annabell's mom. How dare she call a rape victim a slut, especially her daughter. She was going to call up Annabell's mom and give her hell, but that would have to wait because Rachel needed her now. "I'm sorry." Rachel said. "About the drinking, drugs and cutting. I just wanted to forget. I dream about him every night. He's in my every thought. I can't get away from him!"

"Shh!" Cuddy said in a soothing tone as she guided Rachel over to the couch. She sat down next to Rachel. "You are not stupid! Annabell's mom, on the other hand, is a stupid and inconsiderate…I can't even say the word around you!" Rachel looked up at her through blurry tears. "And as for the other, I forgive you. However, I still want you to meet with a therapist" Rachel sighed. "I know you hate the idea, but they'll help you overcome what Mark did to you and make the bad thoughts and nightmares go away." Rachel nodded.

"Okay," Rachel finally said. "I'll go. But can you come with me? Just for the first time?" Cuddy nodded.

"Of course," she said. "You can count on me!" Rachel smiled. "Why don't I make you some hot chocolate?" Rachel nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Cuddy got up and went into the kitchen. She came back a couple minutes later with a steaming mug of hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows, just the way Rachel liked it. Rachel took a sip. "Thanks mom!" Cuddy nodded.

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No thanks! I'm fine" Rachel told her. "I'm just going to watch some TV."

"Okay," Cuddy told her. "If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen" and with that she left. Rachel turned on the TV and decided on watching an episode of 'Glee'. In the middle of the episode, her phone vibrated. Rachel picked it up and saw there was a text message from House.

_Has Cuddy calmed _

_down yet?_

Rachel texted him back and said that her mom seemed a little calmer than before and she wasn't mad at her anymore.

_Good. Because _

_I'm in your driveway._

Rachel got up, ran over to the window and looked out. When she saw House, she went outside and ran over to him. "House!" Rachel exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"What! I don't even get a hello?" he said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hello, House. Do come in." Rachel said in a fake British accent. She ran inside as House slowly lingered behind. "Mommy!" Rachel called as she ran into the kitchen. Cuddy looked up from the pile of paperwork that she was doing.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yep," Rachel chirped. "House is here!" Cuddy gave a look of fury as she got up and dashed towards the front door. She saw House standing in the doorway leaning on his cane.

"House! What the hell are you doing here?" Cuddy shouted. "I thought I specifically told you not to come here."

"Really because, as I recall, you said not to watch Rachel. You never said anything about me not coming over." Cuddy shook her head.

"It's ok, mommy" Rachel said. "I like it when House is here!"

"You heard the girl! Let me in" House said as he pushed his way past Cuddy.

"What do you want, House?" Cuddy asked as she placed her hand on her hip. House leaned in and gave her a passionate kiss as he placed one hand behind her neck and the other on the small of her back. Cuddy stood there in shock after House had pulled away. Finally, after an uncomfortably long pause, Cuddy turned to Rachel. "Rachel, I need you to go to your room, now! You can bring your drink with you if you want."

"But why?" Rachel complained. "I want to see House!"

"You just saw him. Now go!"

"Fine!" Rachel sneered as she grabbed her mug and stormed off to her room, slamming the door behind her. Rachel could hear yelling, but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying even with the hearing aids in. Rachel curled up on her bed and cried. House was the only one, other than her mom, who seemed to give a damn about her and she really needed a friend to talk to. Rachel reached under her bed and pulled out a shoebox. Inside of it were several bottles of Xanax that she had bought from some kid at school. She popped three pills into her mouth and washed it down with the rest of her hot chocolate. In about five minutes, this was all going to be over and she was going to be in her happy place once more. Not wanting anyone to find out, Rachel put the bottle back in the shoebox and pushed it back underneath the bed. She climbed into bed, allowing herself to succumb to the tranquility and numbness that the meds offered her. Slowly, she drifted off into a peaceful slumber…

Cuddy hadn't heard from Rachel in almost 6 hours and she was beginning to get worried. Maybe she had been too harsh on Rachel. After all, would it have been so terrible to let her sit down and talk with House for five minutes? No, Cuddy had let her dignity get the better of her and she was now cursing at herself for it. Cuddy walked over to Rachel's room. "Rachel," she called out as she gently knocked on the door. "Can I come in?" There was no response. Cuddy walked in and saw Rachel peacefully sleeping in her bed. Not wanting to wake her, she turned around to leave and shut the door behind her. About an hour later, Rachel woke up. Her head hurt and she felt dizzy, but she forced herself out of bed and walked into the kitchen. "Hey, mom!" Rachel said sitting down. "What time is it?"

"7:30 pm" Cuddy responded. "Do you want me to make you some dinner?" Rachel shook her head.

"Nah! I'm not that hungry." She had recently lost a significant amount of weight as the Xanax had reduced her appetite and she was now taking it on an almost daily basis.

"You need to eat something" Cuddy told her. "Even if you're not hungry. Your body needs nourishment. Here, have an Ensure. I'll make you a slice of dry toast to go with it." Rachel started to drink it, but felt full after the third sip.

"Do I need to drink all of this now?" Rachel asked as Cuddy put the plate of toast in front of her.

"Within an hour" Cuddy said. "Why don't you eat the toast now and take a reasonably sized sip every five minutes." Rachel sighed as she picked up the toast and began to eat it. After about 10 minutes she had polished off the slice of toast and was already a quarter of the way through her Ensure. "You're doing great, sweetie!" Cuddy praised. Rachel smiled. "Oh, by the way, the lawyer stopped by and gave me a copy of the restraint order. Keep this with you at all times and memorize the number listed at the bottom. If he tries anything ever again, get away from him and call that number immediately." Rachel nodded as she took the sheet of paper, folded it and put it in her purse.

"I need help" Rachel blurted out. "I've buried myself really deep into a crap hole and I need help getting out." Cuddy looked up at her.

"What are you talking about?"

"I bought 5 bottles of Xanax from some kid at school. I've been taking the pills almost every day to help me deal with everything. When you and House were fighting earlier, I took three pills and that's why I slept for so long." Cuddy was speechless. Her expression was a mix of shock, hurt and worry. "And that's why I don't eat much anymore. They make me less hungry. I've lost 12 pounds since I've started taking them. I'm so sorry. I know you must hate me right now and I don't blame you. I mean, I hate myself." Cuddy shook her head.

"I don't hate you" she said, sitting down across the table from her. "But this is really serious, Rachel. I need you to go get all of the Xanax and put it on the table. How much have you been taking per day?"

"Three to four pills, usually" Rachel answered.

"I can't have you stop taking them cold turkey. For five days, I want you to take 2 pills each day, than one pill each day for another five days. That way you'll be off of this crap after 10 days." Rachel nodded. "Go get it!" Rachel got up and grabbed the shoebox from underneath her bed and placed it on the kitchen table like her mom told her to. Cuddy opened up the box and took out the Xanax pills. She counted out how many Rachel was going to need, kept those in a bottle and threw the rest out. Rachel cringed as she did this.

"How am I supposed to deal, mom? When I feel like I can't go on any further, how do I keep myself from doing something drastic and stupid?" Rachel stood up and whacked herself in her forehead with a fist.

"Sit down" Cuddy instructed. So Rachel did. "It's not going to be easy. But this is why I want you to go and see a therapist. They'll teach you how to deal with things in a healthier manner." She paused for a few seconds. "I didn't realize the problem was this bad, though. I think you would benefit from an intensive care program. There's one right at Princeton Plainsborough for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. The group consists of girls ages 10-17. I have the home number of the woman who's in charge of it. I'll call her right now and make arrangements."

"And I don't have a say in this?" Rachel shouted. "This sucks!" She got up and stormed out of the kitchen and into her room. Rachel regretted giving her mom the pills because she wanted to take all of them now and kill herself in order to escape this hell that everyone else called life. Rachel ran into the bathroom and found an unopened bottle of Aspirin next to a half empty bottle of Tylenol extra strength. Rachel locked the bathroom door and began shoving pills down her throat. After a couple of minutes, she had ingested all of the pills. Now it was time for the guilt-trip. Rachel walked into the kitchen with a smirk on her face.

"Rachel, I just got off the phone with the woman that I was telling you about. Her name is Mrs. Smith. She said there's an open spot in the program" Cuddy said, sounding all proud of herself. "I really think you should take it. Of course, you have the final say" she quickly added.

"It's a little late for that, mommy" Rachel said in a snotty tone. Cuddy gave her a look of bewilderment. "I just took everything in these two bottles!" She placed the bottles on the table. Cuddy's jaw dropped. "Now, I can get away from this life and sleep in eternal peace." Cuddy got up and dialed 911. After she hung up, she sat Rachel down in a chair and knelt beside her, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Rachel, I didn't know it was so bad. Please, honey. Your life is worth living. I love you. Even House loves you and that's speaking volumes since he usually doesn't love anyone but himself." Rachel just tuned her out. "Rachel, I know you just said you wanted to die" Cuddy told her. "But the fact that you came out here and told me what you did, rather than having just stayed put in the bathroom shows me that a part of you, no matter how small it may be, still wants to live. Please hold on to that part." Rachel grew dizzy.

"I don't feel so good" Rachel said as she collapsed onto the floor.

**SCENE 2:**

Rachel opened up her eyes. She had a killer headache and her stomach felt like it had been ripped open. Rachel sat up and panicked once she realized that she was in a hospital bed. "Ugh! What happened? Why am I here?" Rachel moaned. She sat up and saw her mom fast asleep in a chair on the other side of the room. Rachel thought about waking her up in order to find out what was going on, but she decided against it. Once Rachel saw that she wasn't hooked up to any machines, had no restraints on or an IV in her arm, she decided to make a break for it. Rachel got up and grabbed her purse. "Bye, mommy!" Rachel whispered. "See you at home!" Cuddy stirred a little, but then settled back into her slumber. On that note, Rachel left and headed down the hallway. She got to the front desk. "Excuse me," Rachel said. The receptionist looked up. "I want to sign myself out."

"How old are you?" she asked Rachel, sounding suspicious. Rachel didn't want to lie, so she said that she was 12.

"You can't sign yourself out, honey. You need to get a parent or guardian to come up here and sign for you." Rachel nodded. There was no sense in arguing because, in the end, her mom would find out and there would be no getting out of the hospital at that point.

"Okay," Rachel said. "I'll go get them." She walked down the hallway and ended up in front of House's door. Peeking through the glass window, Rachel saw that he was sitting in there watching TV. Rachel knocked and then entered.

"I believe you're supposed to knock and then wait for me to say 'Come in' before you decide to barge right in" House said. Rachel let out a chuckle and shook her head. "What brings you here, anyway?" Rachel sat down and told him the whole story.

"And that's why I need you to come with me to the front desk and sign me out" Rachel said, concluding her story. House nodded.

"Ok, fine!" he said. "Why don't you go wait outside while I make a quick phone call and then I'll come and sign you out?"

"Ok! Thanks, House!" Rachel said as she walked outside and sat down in the hallway. A minute later, House hung up the phone and walked out of his office. The two walked down the hallway and towards the front desk. When they got there, Rachel saw her mom standing there not looking too pleased. "You tricked me!" Rachel yelled, giving House the look of death. He ignored her.

"Here's the little trouble maker" House said as Cuddy ran over and hugged Rachel.

"Thank you so much, House!" Cuddy said as she sighed a breath of relief. She turned to Rachel. "Sweetie, you can't just get up and leave like that. I know you want to go back home, but as both your mother and as a doctor, I can't let you do that."

"I feel fine" Rachel protested.

"You tried to kill yourself. You need help! I can't let you go back home knowing there's a chance you'll try to kill yourself again!"

"And lying there in a hospital bed doing absolutely nothing is supposed to do me a whole lot of good?" Rachel shot back.

"I'm just having you stay there until I'm sure you're completely fine. Then I'm having you transferred to the adolescent psych ward."

"You're having me sent to the loony bin!" Rachel cried. "No! It's my life and I can do whatever the hell I want with it!" And with that she ran out of the hospital. Cuddy gave House an expectant look.

"What do you want me to do? I'm the cripple. You go chase after her." Tears formed in Cuddy's eyes.

"I don't know what to do" she said. "I want to help her, but she won't let me. I'm scared she might try to hurt herself again. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to her."

"So tell her that" House said. "Sit down and have a heart to heart chat. Be honest with her and then let her be honest back."

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Cuddy said. "But I think you're right. I'm going to try that." Cuddy ran out the door and went to find Rachel. She saw Rachel sitting on a wooden bench in front of the hospital. Cuddy walked up to her. "Is it ok if I sit down next to you?" Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't care." Cuddy took a seat next to her.

"Do you want to talk?" Cuddy asked.

"Not really. But you can talk if you want to. Just don't expect me to say anything back." Cuddy nodded.

"I now realize that I was wrong by forcing you into treatment. That wasn't fair to you. I should have asked you what you wanted to do before calling Mrs. Smith up." Rachel looked up at her, but didn't say a word. "I hope that you can forgive me. Just know that I'm here if you ever need to talk." Rachel nodded.

"I want help," Rachel said. "But I don't want to be pulled out of school or anything. I want my life to stay as normal as possible."

"I can understand that" Cuddy told her. "Do you want me to call up the therapist on Monday? You just have to go for 45 minutes once a week. If you want, I can see if she does sessions over the phone?"

"I'll go to her office" Rachel said. "It's just that everything is so hard for me. With you always working and now with everyone in school thinking I'm a bitchy slut, I feel like I have nobody."

"I can see if I can reduce my hours or even take a leave of absence, if you think that will help" Cuddy offered.

"Maybe," Rachel said. "But don't we need the money?"

"You let me worry about that" Cuddy told her.

"You don't have to take off work" Rachel said. "I'll be fine."

"So, why do you think everyone at school hates you?" Cuddy asked Rachel.

"They said so. A group of girls cornered me and started calling me a filthy whore and then they pushed me down a flight of stairs and then…"

"They did what?" Cuddy interjected. "Are you ok? Do you want to transfer schools?" Rachel shook her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine and no I don't need to transfer schools. I can handle the abuse."

"It doesn't matter if you CAN handle it" Cuddy told her. "You shouldn't HAVE to handle it!" She looked over at Rachel. "I'm sorry. Please continue with your story."

"Um…well, they said that nobody likes me and they started a 'We Want Rachel Cuddy Dead' group online and they got almost 500 followers the last time I checked." Cuddy didn't know what to say. "They said that if I didn't kill myself, then they would. I figured that if Mark wanted me dead and 500 people from school wanted me dead than maybe I didn't deserve to live." Cuddy gave Rachel a hug.

"I am so sorry" she said. "You don't deserve any of this. You are a sweet girl who DOES deserve to live."

"I don't know" Rachel said. "Mommy, can I show you something?"

"Of course!" Rachel took her phone out of her purse and opened up a text message. It was from Annabell.

I don't know why

we were ever friends

in the first place.

Kill yourself you stupid

cunt. You know that no

one loves you. Your own

birth mom didn't even

want you. How pathetic!

Cuddy looked up at Rachel after reading this. "I am so sorry!" she said with tears forming in her eyes. "You know what; I'm taking that leave of absence. I have some money saved up and grandma said she'd help us out if need be." Rachel nodded before deciding to ask Cuddy what was really on her mind.

"Are you going to make me go to that in-patient program?" Cuddy shook her head.

"No, but only if you promise me that instead of hurting yourself you'll come and talk to me. I don't care what time of day it is or what I'm doing. Promise me that you'll come to me first?" Rachel nodded.

"I promise, mommy." Cuddy smiled. "Good. Now let's go back into the hospital and make sure you're ok before I take you home." Rachel nodded as she got up and followed her mom back into the hospital.

**SCENE 3:**

Monday morning came and Rachel woke up to the shrilling sound of her alarm clock. She got ready like she did any other day. Rachel put on a pink turtleneck, a pair of jeans and her UGG boots. Then she did her hair in a side ponytail and went into the kitchen and saw that Cuddy was on the phone. Rachel grabbed a Low-fat Yogurt, poured herself a glass of OJ and sat down. She wasn't hungry, but forced the food down anyway. Just as she was finishing up, Cuddy got off the phone. "Morning, sweetie!"

"Morning!"

"I just made an appointment for Wednesday at 4:30 with the therapist" she told Rachel.

"Ok. What's her name?" Rachel asked.

"Carol Porter. But you can just call her Carol."

"Oh, ok," Rachel said. "Annabell sent me another text message this morning." Cuddy stopped what she was doing and sat down next to Rachel.

"What about?"

"She told me…well…she said that if I had the guts to come into school today that she'd…she'd take the knife she has in her backpack and stab me while no one else was looking. She said she'd wear gloves so no one would know that it was her." Rachel paused as she looked up at her mom. "She's probably just bluffing, right? I mean 9 out of 10 time's people usually don't follow through with their threats."

"Do you still have the text message?" Rachel nodded. "Don't delete it. Also, one more question. Was Annabell the one who started that online group?" Again, Rachel nodded.

"She was also the one who pushed me down the stairs at school while all the other girls watched and laughed." Rachel confessed.

"You're not going to school today!" Cuddy adamantly told her. "As soon as you're done getting ready, we're going straight to the police. Do you know the website of the group?" Rachel nodded. "Good. Don't worry, Rachel. I won't let anyone hurt you. Not Mark. Not Annabell. Not anyone."

"Can I tell you something?" Rachel asked.

"Sure."

"Annabell is Mark's niece and the sicko paid her to do all this. So technically it isn't her fault. I don't want her to get in trouble because maybe she was doing it all out of fear. Maybe he threatened to kill her, like he did with me, if she didn't do exactly what he said." Rachel explained.

"Do you have proof of this?"

"Of what?" Rachel asked, confused.

"That Mark paid her to do this"

"Yeah, she sent it to me in a text message. I still have it saved."

"Good. I'll be sure to mention that to the police and they'll decide what the best course of action is." Rachel nodded. "Now finish getting ready!" So Rachel did. 20 minutes later, Rachel was ready to go. "You curled your hair? I like it!" Rachel smiled.

"Thanks!"

"Ready to go?" Cuddy asked her.

"I'm scared, mommy."

"It's ok to be scared" Cuddy told her. "But I'll be with you the whole time. I promise. I'm on your side and House is on your side, no matter what."

"Can I text House after we get home and tell him everything that happened?" Cuddy hesitated answering that question for a moment. Finally she decided that it would be ok. Rachel desperately needed a friend right now and if that friend had to be House, then so be it.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I will slowly be building up to some Huddy action within the next couple of chapters or so. Can't say more than that because I don't want to give too much away.

**SCENE 1:**

Rachel and Cuddy arrived at the police station at around 8:30 in the morning. Rachel really didn't want to be there. She didn't want to turn on her best friend. All she wanted was for everything to go back to normal. Normal. Rachel didn't even know what that was anymore. She sighed as she turned towards Cuddy. "Mommy?" Cuddy looked up at her. "Do I have to go in there? Can we just go back home? I'll go to school and you'll go to work and then everything will go back to how it used to be." Cuddy sighed.

"I'm afraid things will never go back to how they used to be" she said. "And we have to go in there in order to protect you from both Mark and Annabell."

"But Annabell's my best friend" Rachel protested. "I can't backstab her."

"She threatened you" Cuddy pointed out. "A true friend wouldn't have done that." Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

"I can't do this" Rachel muttered. "I'm too scared!"

"You have to be brave, Rachel" Cuddy told her. "You have to go in there and tell them everything that happened." Rachel's body began to tense. All she wanted was for her mom to say that she didn't have to go in there if she didn't want to; that there was nothing wrong with turning around and going back home. Unfortunately, Cuddy didn't say that. "Come on!" Cuddy said as she opened the car door. "Rachel! Hurry up." Begrudgingly, Rachel stepped out of the car. She held her mom's hand as they walked into the police precinct. Rachel sat down in one of the waiting chairs as Cuddy went up to the desk and began talking with an officer. After talking with him for about two minutes she walked over to Rachel and sat down next to her.

"What'd they say?" Rachel nervously asked while staring at the ground.

"Just that they'd be with us shortly," Cuddy responded. Rachel nodded her head and then went back to studying the patterns of the multi-colored tile floor.

"Ms. Cuddy?" Rachel heard a voice call a few minutes later. She looked up and saw a woman standing there. Rachel glanced over at her mom who stood up and nodded, urging her to follow. Rachel got up, took a deep breath and followed the woman into a small room with a rectangular table. The woman shut the door. "Hello," she said extending her hand out to Rachel. "My name is Detective Brown. And you must be Rachel?" Rachel nodded. She then proceeded to shake Cuddy's hand real quick. Then the three of them sat down around the table; Rachel next to Cuddy and Detective Brown sitting directly across from Rachel. "So, Rachel" Detective Brown began. "Your mother informed us that a man by the name of Mark Stevens raped you and that you've been receiving death threats from both him and a fellow classmate of yours named Annabell Lewis." Rachel just simply nodded. "Can you tell me more about that please?" So Rachel began to tell her harrowing tale. As she was speaking, she saw Detective Brown arch her eyebrows and scribble something down on a pad. She seemed truly interested in what Rachel had to say. "Do you have any of these alleged text messages and know the website of the online group?"

"Yeah," Rachel responded. She took out her phone and showed Detective Brown all of the threatening texts. "But here's one showing that Annabell was being pressured into doing this. I don't think she would have done any of this if she wasn't scared for her life."

"We'll take that into consideration" was all Detective Brown said before taking Rachel's phone and walking into an ajoining room with it. Rachel looked over nervously at her mom.

"You're doing great!" Cuddy said. Rachel forced a smile.

"Why'd she take my phone?" Rachel asked.

"She needs to make copies of all the texts they sent you. That way they can use it as evidence in court." Cuddy explained.

"What?" Annabell exclaimed, freaking out. "I have to face him in court and say everything he did to me with him sitting there? No, I can't do that!" Rachel began to hyperventilate.

"I understand that you're scared. But you have to testify against him."

"What does that mean?" Rachel asked. "To testify?"

"To tell the judge and the jury what he and Annabell did to you. You need to be completely honest" Cuddy said.

"I can't" Rachel uttered. "I…I just can't!" Tears started to form in her eyes.

"How about I ask Detective Brown if they can make a recording of your deposition, or your testimony if you will, and then they can share that in the courtroom? That way you don't have to be present." Cuddy suggested.

"I guess that's alright." Cuddy smiled as she took her hand off Rachel's shoulder.

"Good," she said. Detective Brown came back into the room a moment later and gave Rachel her phone back.

"Am I going to have to testify in court?" Rachel asked.

"It would be better if you did." Rachel looked over at her mom.

"Look, the girl is terrified to be in the same room with this pedophile" Cuddy explained. "Can't we just record her deposition?"

"We could do that" Detective Brown said. "But Rachel would still have to appear in court in case the judge or either attorney has any questions for her."

"But if he walks free he could come and kill me" Rachel said in a shaky voice. "He said he would. I'm too scared to die!"

"I'll be with you the entire time" Cuddy promised. "And there will be a court officer who will step in if Mark tries anything."

"Is Annabell going to have to go to court too?" Rachel asked.

"We're going to call her and her parents in. She may or may not have to appear in court depending on what we and her lawyer decide upon." Rachel gulped.

"She's going to hate me for turning on her."

"Rachel, listen to me! Like I said earlier, a true friend wouldn't have done that." Cuddy then turned towards Detective Brown. "Is there anything else you'll need today, Detective?"

"Just the name of the online group. Then you're free to go" she said. Detective Brown handed Rachel a sheet of paper and a pen. Rachel wrote down the name of the group and handed her back the paper and pen. Then she and Cuddy got up, got into the car and left. Rachel looked at the clock in the car.

"It's only 9:15 and I already feel so exhausted, like the whole day has passed" Rachel told her mom.

"I don't blame you" Cuddy said. "You've been through a lot."

"So what are we going to do the rest of the day if I'm not going to school and you not going to work?" Rachel asked. "I'm not used to both of us having nothing to do and especially at the same time." Cuddy let out a quick laugh.

"I don't know," she said. "What do you want to do?" Rachel was about to answer when Cuddy's cellphone rang. "Rachel, honey, can you put it on speaker, please?" Rachel did. "Hello?"

"Hey, former Boss Lady!" House said. "In order to avoid yet another lawsuit, I want your permission to perform a brain biopsy. I was going to do it anyway, but Cameron has me on lockdown in my office until I call you. Just say yes so we can both go about our merry ways."

"Why does the patient need a brain biopsy?" Cuddy asked.

"Damn! Why do you always need to go into specifics?" House whined. "I thought it would be fun to open up his head and poke around just to see what happens."

"House, that's not funny" Cuddy said, annoyed. "Either tell me what's really going on or I'm hanging up!"

"Fine! We found evidence of a tumor on their CT scan and I want to biopsy it to see whether or not it's cancerous." Cuddy hesitated.

"Are you 100% sure it's a tumor?"

"Either that or the patient has a golf ball lodged into his Cerebellum" House said sarcastically.

"Did you get Wilson's opinion on this? Cuddy asked him in a very professional tone.

"If by THIS you mean whether to watch "General Hospital' or 'WWE Wrestling' I tried but he kicked me out of his office because, according to him, he was too busy for my antics."

"I don't have time for your antics either, House. Just go and ask him for his opinion and then call me back and let me know what he says."

"What'd she say?" Cuddy heard Cameron ask in the background.

"To go for it" House lied.

"House! I heard that!"

"But she didn't" House said as he hung up.

"Damn!" Cuddy muttered under her breath. "Rachel, I am so sorry. Can you dial Cameron's number? It's in my contacts list and keep it on speaker, ok?"

"Alright," Rachel sighed as she did what she was told.

"Hello, Dr. Cameron"

"Hi, it's Lisa. Don't do the brain biopsy. Run the CT scan results by Wilson and then call me back and let me know what he says."

"Oh crap! I have to try and catch House before he wheels the patient into surgery." And with that she hung up.

"I am so sorry for the interruptions," Cuddy apologized again. "Anyway, what do you want to do today?" Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know."

"You say you want to spend more time with me and then when you have the chance to spend more time with me you don't know what you want to do?" Cuddy joked.

"You wanna hear a song I wrote when we get home?" Rachel suggested.

"Sure. Rachel, have you ever tried Yoga?" Cuddy asked. Rachel shook her head.

"No. Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yoga is a great stress reliever" Cuddy explained. "Believe me. That's the sole reason I'm able to deal with House without losing it!" Rachel giggled. "I have a couple of CD's at home with relaxation music that I can put on and I'll show you a few poses if you're interested." This was the first time that her mom ever included her in one of her personal activities. Rachel felt special to be a part of it, no matter how trivial it was.

"Yeah, sure" Rachel responded. "I'd love to learn!"

"Great!" Cuddy exclaimed, with an obvious enthusiasm in her voice. "I'll listen to your song first, and then we'll do some Yoga followed by having lunch. How does that sound?"

"It sounds really nice" Rachel answered with a genuine smile on her face.

"Good. After we're done with lunch, I'll go pick up all of your missed work from school and then I'm going to do some of my work from home. But at least we'll have the morning together." Rachel nodded in agreement. A few minutes later they arrived home and walked into the house.

"Wanna hear my song now?" Rachel asked, excitedly.

"Just give me a few minutes to get settled and then I'd love to hear it." Rachel sighed as she went into her room. The thing was, her mom had made promises to spend time with her before, but work always seemed to get in the way. 20 minutes later, Rachel still hadn't heard anything from her mom, so she got up and walked into the living room. Cuddy was sitting on the couch with a mountain of paperwork laid out in front of her, while chatting away on her cellphone. "Tell House he's going to get his butt sued if he doesn't follow proper protocol. No! I don't care if he ends up being right. From what you've told me, he's already broken five different laws. You have to treat the patient within the boundaries of the law. I don't give a damn about his wormhole theory!" She looked up and noticed Rachel standing there with a look of disappointment on her face. "Tell House if he has a problem with this, then he should give me a call. Look, I have to go! Bye now!" Cuddy hung up and put her phone back into her purse. She turned towards Rachel. "Sorry about that. Anyway, I'm ready to hear that song now if you're still interested in playing it for me." Rachel nodded as she ran over to their black baby grand piano.

"I'm not sure if it's going to be that good" Rachel said. "It's the first song I've ever written"

"I'm sure it will be wonderful, honey" Cuddy said, taking a seat on the couch. Rachel put her hands on the piano and began to play. After the third measure, she started to sing.

_I walk down the halls_

_feeling so small,_

_but one smile from you_

_changes everything._

_But then you look away_

_and I don't know what to say._

_I blend into the shadows._

_Invisible; I'm invisible._

_If I were to scream your name_

_as you pass by me today_

_would you answer me_

_or just walk away?_

_I don't know what to say_

_and I don't know what to feel._

_It makes me wonder_

_were you even smiling at me?_

_Or was it she_

_who was walking behind me?_

_Maybe you and me_

_just aren't meant to be._

_Oohhhhh! Oohhhhh! Yeah. Oohhhhh!_

Rachel stopped playing and looked up at Cuddy. "So what'd you think?"

"I like it" Cuddy responded. "Just one question. Is this how you're really feeling?" Rachel shook her head.

"No, I was just listening to a bunch of cruddy break-up songs on my iPod while I was writing this." Cuddy laughed.

"Well, it's very good" she told Rachel. "I'm impressed." Rachel smiled upon hearing this statement. It truly meant a lot that her mom was genuinely proud of her.

"I played this at the talent show back in November" Rachel told Cuddy.

"You had a talent show? Where was I?"

"Work" Rachel responded in a slightly hurt tone.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there, but at least I got to hear it now. Do you have any other performances coming up?" Cuddy asked, not wanting to miss yet another one. Rachel thought for a moment.

"I have a piano recital next Sunday at the community theatre" Rachel said. "But it's not a big thing. So you don't have to come if you don't want to."

"Of course I want to come!" Cuddy said, feeling slightly hurt with the fact that her daughter thought she didn't have an interest in her life. "What time is it?"

"2pm. But I have to be there at 1:30."

"I'll be there" Cuddy said as she took out her blackberry and put it into her calendar. "There. Now there's no way I can forget!"

"So how about some Yoga, mom?" Cuddy smiled as she got up and walked down the stairs towards the basement with Rachel following closely behind. When they got down there, Cuddy grabbed 2 mats off of a shelf and laid them down on the floor. Then she grabbed a couple of C.D.'s.

"Do you prefer nature sounds or classical music?"

"Classical" Rachel answered. Cuddy returned the other CD back to its proper place, walked over to her neon green boom box and placed the C.D. in there.

"Ready?" Cuddy asked. Rachel nodded. "Good. We're just going to start off with some stretching. You should know most of these exercises from Cheerleading." Cuddy was right. Not only did Rachel know all of the stretches, but she was doing them with ease. "Very good!" Cuddy said. "Now for some poses. The first one I'm going to teach you is called the 'Sun Salutation'. It consists of mostly stretching. So it's a good one to start off with." Cuddy showed her how to do it. Rachel messed up the first couple of times, but then she caught on and was doing it flawlessly. "Great!" Cuddy praised. "Now we're going to do 'Child's pose'." Again, Cuddy showed her what to do and Rachel went right into the pose.

"I could fall asleep like this" Rachel said half-jokingly. Cuddy was about to show her another pose when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it" Rachel said as she got up and ran up the stairs. She opened the door and saw Cameron with a tight grip around House's arm.

"Hi Rachel" Cameron said. "How are you?"

"Good, thanks. How are you?" Rachel responded.

"Good. Is your mom home?"

"Yeah, come on in and make yourselves at home while I go and get her." Rachel let them in and then ran downstairs. "Mommy! House and Cameron are here. They're sitting on the couch upstairs." Cuddy walked over to her.

"Rachel, how many times do I have to tell you to come and get me before you let people in?" Cuddy said with her hand on her hip and a gleam of both anger and frustration in her eyes.

"Sorry, I just thought it was ok to let people in if we knew them." Cuddy shook her head and took a deep breath as her expression relaxed a little.

"Next time don't let anyone in until you get me first and let me decide whether or not to let them in. Understood?"

"Yes. Sorry, mom!" Cuddy nodded.

"It's fine" Cuddy said as she headed upstairs. Rachel stood at the bottom of the stairs and listened to the conversation.

"Hello, Dr. House. Dr. Cameron. What brings you both here today?"

"Why don't you tell her what you did House?" Cameron said with a strong disdain in her voice.

"So, the thing is, I might have taken just a teeny-tiny brain biopsy without running it by Wilson, but…"

"You did what?" Cuddy screamed at him. "Didn't you even listen to a word I said?"

"Hey, Cameron is just as guilty for not stopping me. Why aren't you yelling at her?"

"I tried to stop you House, but you were in already in surgery before I had the chance to and by the time I got cleaned up and in scrubs, you were finished. What was I supposed to do?" she complained.

"You could have run into the room and stopped me instead of taking your jolly old time cleaning-up and putting on your precious scrubs."

"Oh and let the patient get sepsis. Great idea, House. Have a second lawsuit on top of the first. Why do you always…"

"Enough!" Cuddy interjected. "Cameron, I'm no longer your boss and I haven't been so for the past 10 years. You should know by now to go to Dr. Forman and let him handle this. It's not a difficult concept to grasp!" She turned towards House. "And you! I doubt you've ever heard the word 'No' in your life. Don't expect me to cut you any deals if this patient decides to sue your ass."

"But…" House started to say.

"I don't want to hear it. Get out!" Cuddy said as she got up and swung the front door open. Cameron walked out got into her car and left, but House stayed put. "If you're not off my property within the next two minutes, then I'm calling the police and having you arrested for trespassing, which really wouldn't be a good thing, in your case, since you're already on probation. And I am not bailing you out this time!" A minute later, Rachel saw House come down the stairs and they locked eyes.

"How long has the little rug rat been standing there?" House asked as he pointed at Rachel. Crap! She was hoping no one would see her.

"Rachel! Go to your room!" Cuddy ordered. "Just because you have hearing aids now does not mean you have a right to eavesdrop on other peoples conversations." Rachel just stood there. "Rachel, now! Come on! Move it!" Cuddy shrieked as she quickly clapped her hands.

"Sure, send me off to my room" Rachel complained as she headed up the stairs. "That way you can spend even less time with me. I don't understand why you even adopted me when you obviously don't want anything to do with me."

"Now, Rachel, that's not true and you know it!" Cuddy protested, but Rachel was already in her room with the door shut. "Wonderful!" Cuddy muttered. "She's never going to open up the door for me and I don't exactly feel like shouting through a wooden blockade." House walked back up the stairs. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To do what you can't!" he shot back. He walked up to Rachel's bedroom door and banged on it with his cane.

"Go away!" Rachel screamed. "Leave me alone!" House ignored her and opened up the door anyway. "What part of 'go away' did you not understand?" Rachel said with her face buried in her pillows. House shut the door behind him.

"Rachel," House said. "Get over yourself. Believe it or not the world does not revolve around precious little you." Rachel looked up with an expression of shock mixed with anger. "Look, if your mom didn't want anything to do with you then tell me why she's missing work to spend time with you? Why did she take you to the police station this morning? Spend hours on the phone in order to get an order of protection for you? Bring you to the doctor so you could get hearing aids? If your mom didn't care than she wouldn't have done any of this. She would have just let you fend for yourself without giving any of it a second thought. If she didn't care, then she wouldn't be hurt by what you just said." Rachel just shook her head in agony.

"She missed my talent show performance last November because her precious work is more important than me. But it makes sense. I'm not even her real daughter, so why should she love me? If my real parents didn't even love me, than why should she?" Rachel said as tears fell down her face and stained her cheeks.

"Cut the self-pity crap!" House said in an exacerbated tone. "Your mom loves you very much and you know it. She's taking a leave of absence and is working from home in case you need anything. The least you can do is cut her some slack!"

"Oh, so suddenly you're a big Lisa Cuddy fan? I thought you hated her." House shook his head.

"I like to jerk your mom around a little bit, but that doesn't mean I hate her. In fact, I respect her for all that she does. But don't tell her that or else I won't have power over her anymore." Rachel giggled. "So what do you say you go out and talk with your mom? Apologize for eavesdropping and talking back to her, even if you think she doesn't deserve it. Believe me; an apology goes a long way."

"But you never apologize to anyone" Rachel pointed out.

"Think about it, Rachel. Do you really want to end up like me? A miserable cripple who pops pills like candy in order to avoid the realities of everyday life?" Rachel thought for a second and then shook her head.

"I guess you're right" Rachel said. "I just need a few minutes to calm down and then I promise I'll go out and apologize to her."

"Good!" House said. Little did they know that Cuddy was standing on the other side of Rachel's door and heard every word they had just said. House had stood up for her! And not only that. He said that he respected her. Cuddy felt her heart begin to melt as feelings of euphoria pulsated through her body at lightning speed. After Cuddy came to her senses, she quickly and quietly went into her room and shut the door in order to avoid being seen. "I'm going to leave now" House said as he opened Rachel's bedroom door. "Don't forget what I just said."

"I won't" Rachel promised. House gave her a quick nod and shut the door behind him.

"Bye Cuddles. I'm leaving now!" House announced as he walked down the hallway. Cuddy opened her bedroom door and walked out into the hallway.

"Wait!" she called out. House turned around and looked at her. "I want to thank you for how great you've been with Rachel. You're probably the only person she completely trusts now. And I want you to know that the reason I spent $1500 bailing you out of jail was to show you how much I appreciate what you did. You went to jail for her! This was a huge act of kindness that's just beyond words." House nodded and took a step closer to her. Cuddy walked over and gave him a hug. She could feel his breath on her neck. He leaned into kiss her and this time she kissed back. Cuddy felt so secure being held in his arms. House ran his hands through her dark curls before slowly releasing her. They both smiled as they stared into each other's eyes. After a few seconds, House broke the silence.

"I have to get going. Wilson lost a bet to me and is buying me lunch. I don't want to be late for that." Cuddy let out a quick laugh.

"Take care of yourself!" Cuddy said as she watched him walk down the stairs.

"I always do" House said as he walked out of the house and shut the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**SCENE 1:**

A few minutes after House had left Cuddy walked into the kitchen and started brewing a pot of coffee. She still felt giddy after this special encounter with House, no matter how small it may have been. Cuddy sat down at the table while she waited for the coffee to finish brewing. She was lost in deep thought when Rachel walked in. "Mom?" Rachel tentatively called out. Cuddy broke free of her trance-like state and looked up at her. "I'm really sorry about what I said before. I was totally out of line when I said that and none of what I said was true. You've done so much to help me and I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate it all." Cuddy smiled.

"Sit down" she said patting the seat next to her. So Rachel did. "It's ok. I forgive you. And I also was wrong for taking my anger towards Cameron and House out on you. Why don't we say that we forget this little event ever occurred and have some lunch?"

"Sure, that sounds good" Rachel said. "What are we having?"

"What do you want?" Cuddy asked her.

"Do we have any Sushi left?" Cuddy got up and checked the fridge.

"Yep, we have 'Spicy Tuna Roll' and 'California Roll'."

"I'll have two of each" Rachel said as she got up, took out a plate from the cabinet and put the Sushi on. "I'm eating this with my hands otherwise I'll be here all day if I try and use chopsticks." Cuddy let out a slight chuckle.

"I also want you to have an Ensure with that. A whole one."

"Again!" Rachel moaned. "But they're way too filling. I always feel like puking after drinking those things!"

"You need to get your weight back up" Cuddy told her. "Maybe the reason why you've been so moody lately is because your body isn't getting enough nourishment."

"Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I've been raped over and over again this past year and all my friends have turned on me and now I have nobody!" Rachel screamed as she hastily got up. "Forget it! I've lost my appetite!" she said as she stormed out of the kitchen.

"Rachel!" Cuddy said chasing after her. "Come back here!" Cuddy caught up to Rachel and grabbed her by the arm. Rachel resisted at first, but then she broke down and fell into her mother's embracing arms and began to cry. "I'm so sorry about everything. I can't even begin to imagine the pain you must be feeling right now" Cuddy said as she lightly ran her fingers through Rachel's hair. Rachel stopped crying and looked up at her. "Come on. Let's sit down. Why don't we compromise by having you only drink half of the Ensure? How does that sound?"

"I'll try" Rachel said. Cuddy let her go and they both walked back into the kitchen and sat down. By that time the coffee was ready and Cuddy poured herself a cup. "Can I have some?" Rachel asked. Cuddy looked up, a bit confused as to what she was referring to. "Can I have some coffee?"

"Rachel, you know the rules. You're not allowed to have coffee until you start high school." Rachel sighed, but kept quiet because she decided it wasn't worth the fight. Cuddy came back to the table, put down her cup of coffee and handed a half full glass of Ensure to Rachel.

"Thanks," Rachel said as she took a sip. Cuddy nodded.

"So you've lost 12 pounds?" Rachel nodded. "Would you mind stepping on the bathroom scale at some point today so I can monitor your weight? I don't have to tell you what your weight is if you don't want. I won't even tell you if you're gaining or losing weight. I just need to know the numbers so I can help you in the best way that I can." Rachel took a deep breath.

"You know what, let's go right now. And you can tell me. I want to know" So they both got up and headed into the bathroom. "Can I take my shoes off?" Cuddy nodded. Rachel took them off and stepped up on the scale. It read 92 pounds.

"Now let me measure you" Cuddy said as she went and got the tape measurer. "Stand up straight and put your back against the wall. Rachel did. "Ok, it looks like you're about 5'2". That means you should weigh anywhere from 108-120 pounds. So you're 16 pounds under where you should be. I want you to have half of an Ensure with every meal" Cuddy told her. "And I want you to take 2 more pieces of sushi with your lunch today." Rachel nodded.

"Am I in trouble?" she nervously asked. Cuddy shook her head.

"Of course not! This is not a punishment. I'm having you do this so you can be healthy and enjoy your life again." Cuddy explained.

"And you know that I'm not deliberately trying to starve myself, right? It's just that I haven't felt all that hungry lately."

"I know" Cuddy said. "Now let's go finish lunch." Rachel took one more piece of each kind of sushi and finished her lunch in about 20 minutes.

"I feel stuffed" Rachel complained.

"Well, that's to be expected. You're not used to eating this much anymore" Cuddy told her in a very nonchalant tone. "Anyway, I'm going to pick up your work from school now and then I'll be busy with my own work."

"Ok," Rachel responded.

"Do you need anything?" Rachel shook her head. "Well, just know that you can come and get me any time day or night if something happens or if you just need to talk. That's why I'm working from home now; so I'll be more available." Rachel smiled.

"Alrighty, thanks!" Cuddy nodded. She grabbed her purse and car keys and left. When she returned home the two of them got straight to work. Rachel was in the middle of reading 'Of Mice and Men' when her cell phone vibrated. There was a new text message, which she opened up.

I warned you NOT

to tell bitch.

But you didn't listen.

And now I'm gonna make

sure you pay for this.

Don't bother trying

to run and hide.

I'm sitting right outside

of your house and

am watching your

every move.

You are dead meat!

Rachel felt sick to her stomach. She ran out into the hallway. "Mommy!" Rachel called out. "Mommy, where are you?" Cuddy came out of the kitchen.

"Rachel, what is it? What happened?" Rachel was too scared to speak so she handed her mom her phone with the text message still open. Cuddy read it and an expression of horror appeared across her face. She immediately walked over to one of the windows and peeked through the blinds. Mark wasn't lying. He was sitting there in his car just staring up at the house. "Rachel, since the bathroom has no windows, I want you to go in there and lock the door. Here's your phone back. Go and call the number that's written on the bottom of your restraining order."

"Ok," Rachel said, her voice sounding shaky. "Um…what do you want me to say?"

"Tell them that you have a restraining order against him and read them the text message he just sent you." After a moment's hesitation, Rachel walked into the bathroom and did what she was told.

"I called. Can I come out now?" Rachel shouted out a few minutes later. Cuddy ran to the bathroom door.

"Go ahead." So Rachel opened the door, but Cuddy stopped her before she was able to get out. "I need your phone first." Rachel gave it to her. "So, what'd they say?"

"Just that they're sending an undercover cop here to investigate the matter" Rachel explained.

"Good," Cuddy said. "I don't want you leaving my side until they arrest this…excuse my language, but until they arrest this son of a bitch!" Rachel nodded.

"So, what are we going to do now?"

"Why don't you pick a movie for us to watch?"

"Ok!" Rachel said as she browsed through their extensive DVD collection. "How about 'Twilight'?"

"You have to pick the one movie that I can't stand!"

"Sorry," Rachel muttered. "I'll pick something else."

"No, it's fine. I was joking." Cuddy told her. "Put it in." So Rachel did and with that they both sat down and watched it together. About 20 minutes into the movie, there was a knock at the door. "You wait right here, I'll go answer it." So Rachel stayed put. Rachel glanced over her shoulder as she saw her mom talking to a man who she guessed was the undercover cop. She couldn't make out a word that either of them were saying, but decided it would be best to stay right where she was. Cuddy returned a couple of minutes later with a smile on her face. "Mark's been arrested!" she told Rachel. "He is to remain in jail without bail until the hearing." Rachel took a breath of relief.

"I'm safe!" she said. "I'm finally safe!" She hugged Cuddy real quick and then looked up at her. "Can I have my phone back, please?" Cuddy handed it to her.

"Who are you texting?" Cuddy asked.

"House. I want him to know everything's ok now. That Mark is finally in jail." Cuddy smiled. It made her happy to see how well the two of them got along. A few minutes later, Rachel's phone vibrated. It was a text from House.

That's great!

Tell Cuddy I want

her to call me asap.

Rachel was worried that something was wrong. "Um, mommy…House said he wants you to call him like right now!"

"Ok," Cuddy said sounding a bit confused. "Did he give any indication as to what he wants to talk about?" Rachel shook her head. "Alright, I'll be right back." So she went into the kitchen, picked up the cordless phone and dialed House's number.

"What can I do for the fantastic Cuddle's today?"

"Rachel said you wanted to talk to me about something. Is everything ok?" Cuddy asked.

"Couldn't be better. Wilson bought me a Rueben with a large Coke and a side of fries. I love buying extra when he's paying. See, normally, I would've just gotten the Rueben and a small coke, but…"

"House, is this what you wanted to talk to me about? Because I'm kind of in the middle of something. And I don't see how…"

"Will you shut up and let me finish woman?" House interjected. He took Cuddy's silence as permission to continue. "Anyway, Wilson is going to be out of the condo tonight for guys' night or something stupid like that. Anyway, why don't you and the little rug rat come over? I'm making lasagna, salad and squash."

"Wow, that's uncharacteristically nice of you, House" Cuddy said. She paused for a second. "Wait, what's the catch?"

"Let's just say it's a celebration dinner for the pedophile being put away."

"That sounds great. Rachel and I would love to come!" Cuddy said. "What time do you want us over there by?"

"I'm serving dinner at around 6:30, but you can come earlier if you want to experience some House-style fun and entertainment."

"Be there at 6?" Cuddy suggested.

"Yep," was all House said.

"Good. I'll see you then" Cuddy said as House hung up. Cuddy walked into the living room and sat down next to Rachel. "Honey, we're going to House's condo at 6 for dinner. We'll leave here around 5:45, ok?" Rachel smiled.

"Ok, cool!" she responded. "What's the occasion?"

"To celebrate justice being served" Cuddy explained. Rachel's face lightened up.

"That's great! I can't wait."

**SCENE 2:**

Rachel and Cuddy arrived at House's place at 6:00 sharp. Cuddy rang the doorbell and a few seconds later House opened up. "Hi, House!" Rachel squealed as she ran inside. "I love your place. It looks really cool."

"Great! A 12-year-old girl thinks my place looks cool!" House moaned. "I've been telling Wilson for months now that we need to re-decorate." Cuddy shook her head as she walked in and shut the door behind her.

"You've got to give us the tour, House!" Rachel said. "Come on! Mommy and I really want to see everything. Isn't that right, mommy?"

"If it's alright with House" she told Rachel.

"It's not exactly a big place. To the right is my 8 tile big kitchenette; to the left is the living room which doubles as my bedroom. The bathroom is straight ahead and Wilson's room is the door next to that." Rachel looked a little disappointed. "Hey, Kiddo" he said looking down at Rachel. "How about I show you something really cool?" Rachel nodded.

"Ok!" She followed House into Wilson's bedroom.

"Wilson lets you into his room?" Rachel asked. House shook his head.

"No, but I come in anyway. Don't worry, he's used to it. So anyway, Wilson has this bet with the rest of my team saying that I own a gun and he has been searching every inch of this place for the past week in order to find said gun."

"Do you own a gun?" Rachel asked. House shook his head.

"No, but I've got something way cooler than a gun!" House opened up Wilson's closet and took out a long black wooden box with a combination lock on it. House put in the combination and the box popped right open. Inside of it was an authentic antique sword.

"Oh my God. That's so cool. Where'd you get it?"

"I never tell my secrets" House teased. Rachel looked at it with great interest.

"Can I touch it?" House paused for a moment.

"Yep," he said. "Just don't take it out of the box." Rachel ran her hand down the smooth blade and onto the thick brass handle. It was very shiny and had a rose design engraved into it. After about a minute, Rachel took her hand off.

"That's so cool!" she said. House nodded.

"Just don't tell your mom about the sword, ok? I don't think she'd appreciate me showing this to you, being the Pacifist that she is." Rachel gave him a quizzical look. "Never mind" he said. "Just don't tell her, ok?" Rachel nodded. House was the only one she didn't mind keeping secrets for. In fact, she felt that their secrets created a special bond between the two of them. Rachel walked out of Wilson's room as House put the sword back where it belonged.

"What was that all about?" Cuddy asked as Rachel entered the living room.

"House showed me his guitar and let me strum a couple of the strings" Rachel quickly made up. Cuddy seemed to believe it.

"Oh, he still has that thing? It's got to be at least 20 years old by now."

"Wow! That is old" Rachel said. Cuddy shot her a look.

"Are you saying that I'm old? Because if you think 20 is old, then I can only imagine what you consider me. " she teased.

"Please, mom. Anyone over 17 is old to me" They both giggled.

"What's so funny girls?" House asked as he walked out of Wilson's room and shut the door behind him.

"Mommy thought I was calling her old" Rachel said.

"And you find your aging funny, Cuddy? Why is it that when she calls you old you laugh, but whenever I call you old you slap me and then give me the 3rd degree?"

"Because I'm cute, young and innocent" Rachel said with a fake smile. House smirked.

"Ok, you little trouble maker. I'm going to finish making dinner. Why don't you watch something on TV?"

"I'll go help you" Cuddy said as she got up and followed House into the kitchenette.

"Want to taste some sauce?" House asked Cuddy in a seductive tone. Cuddy opened her mouth as House slid the spoon into her mouth. Cuddy licked it and then House slowly pulled it out. "Looks like a little got on your chin."

"Why don't you get that off for me?" Cuddy said in an equally seductive tone. House placed his lips on Cuddy's bottom lip and chin and began to do a light sucking motion. He moved his lips upwards until they were even with Cuddy's lips as he continued with this. Cuddy put her hand on the back of his neck and pressed her lips into his. She began to lightly nibble on his bottom lip and he stuck his tongue into Cuddy's mouth rapping it around hers. Cuddy slid her hand down to his ass and squeezed it lightly.

"Jeez, get a room you two" Rachel said, covering her face with a pillow. They both immediately stopped what they were doing and looked up at her.

"After dinner," House whispered "we'll go into Wilson's room and I'll give you an extra special dessert" Cuddy smiled. "I'll make sure to put in a DVD for the little rug rat. She like the Simpsons?" Cuddy nodded. "Great, I'll put that in for her afterwards. It has 5 episodes on each disk, so that should give us plenty of time!" Again, Cuddy smiled.

"Looking forward to it." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then walked over to the couch and sat down next to Rachel. "Relax, Rachel. I'm back here ALONE." Rachel put the pillow down.

"I knew it!" she announced. "I knew you two liked each other. It is so freaking obvious!" Cuddy let out a chuckle.

"Looks like you were right" Cuddy said with a smile.

"I sure was!"

"Having fun?" she asked Rachel.

"Yep," Rachel said. "House is really cool. And I know he would never do what Mark did to me."

"Not in a million years" Cuddy said in agreement.

"So, are you guys going to share the after dinner special tonight?" Rachel asked in a teasing tone.

"Rachel!" Cuddy exclaimed in shock. "That is completely inappropriate."

"Sorry" she said. "Um…mom, what's a Pacifist?" Rachel randomly asked as she looked up at Cuddy.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because House called you one" Rachel told her. Cuddy chuckled.

"When was this?"

"At some point in the past" Rachel teased.

"Well, I know that. But…never mind." Cuddy quickly said deciding it would be better to simply explain it than try to pull information of little significance out of Rachel. "Okay, a Pacifist is someone who is completely against any kind of war or violence what-so-ever."

"Oh, ok. Now it makes sense" Rachel said.

"What does?"

"Nothing" Rachel quickly spit out. "Umm…thanks for spending the day with me today. It really meant a lot to me."

"Not a problem" Cuddy told her. "Do you think it helped with things?" Rachel nodded.

"Definitely. I'm just happy that Mark is finally in jail. Now I know he won't be able to hurt me anymore!" Suddenly a look of concern appeared on Rachel's face. "What happens if he's found innocent in court and then he isn't put in jail and he tries to come back and hurt me again?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it" Cuddy told her. "Don't worry about what hasn't happened yet."

"I know. I'm just really scared" Rachel confessed.

"Look, the main thing is that you're safe now" Cuddy assured her. "Just try and put it all out of your mind and enjoy yourself tonight." Rachel nodded.

"I'll try" she said.

"Good," Cuddy told her. "That's all I'm asking." They sat in silence for a couple of minutes.

"Dinner!" House called out. "Shag your butts over here." Rachel got up and ran over to the table.

"Rachel, wash your hands first! You know the rules" Cuddy told her.

"Ok, mommy" Rachel moaned as she went and got washed up in the bathroom. She then returned and sat down. "This looks really good, House!" Rachel complimented.

"Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks" he responded. The three of them enjoyed a nice dinner without any talk of Mark, Annabell or anything of the sort. "Hey Rachel did I ever tell you about the time that I punched a Marine while I was in the National Guard because they were hitting on your mom?" House asked.

"You were never in the National Guard, House!" Cuddy said as she lightly punched him in his arm. "And you were the one who got punched because you got really drunk and were hanging all over me."

"Ouch!" House cried in fake-pain. "That can be viewed as assault, you know."

"So sue me" Cuddy shot back.

"Did you see that Rachel? Yell at your mother for me!" House commanded. Rachel just shook her head while she laughed. "Well, I'm so glad that you find my being in pain humorous, young lady!" Rachel glanced over at Cuddy.

"Don't worry, he's just joking" Cuddy assured her. Rachel smiled and went back to eating her lasagna.

"I don't need to have an Ensure with this meal, do I?" Rachel asked Cuddy.

"No, I'll give you a pass just this once."

"Thank God!" Rachel muttered under her breath. "I'm stuffed!"

After dinner, Cuddy helped House clean up while Rachel watched some TV.

"Rachel and I have to get going now" Cuddy said as she turned on the dishwasher. "Thanks for having us over for dinner. It was lovely!"

"What, no 'after-dinner' special?" House whined. Cuddy shot him a look. "I heard you two talking before. Come on! The kid will understand." Cuddy shook her head.

"Maybe another time, House!"

"So, there's still hope?"

"I said 'maybe', didn't I?" Cuddy shot back as she walked over to Rachel. "Come on, sweetie. Time to go!" Rachel got up.

"Ok, thanks for dinner, House! It was really good" Rachel said as she waved goodbye. He nodded as he watched Rachel and Cuddy walk out the front door. House didn't realize it until that night, but he had never stopped loving Lisa Cuddy.

**SCENE 3:**

It was Wednesday afternoon and Cuddy was getting ready to take Rachel to her first appointment with the therapist. "Rachel, hurry up!" Cuddy called out. "We're going to be late!"

"Coming!" Rachel said as she grabbed her purse and ran out into the hallway.

"You're going to stay with me, right?" Rachel asked as they walked outside and got into the car. "You're not just going to drop me off?"

"That's what we agreed upon, isn't it?"

"Yep," Rachel answered. "Just making sure" she said as they pulled out of the driveway. Rachel turned on the radio.

"What the hell is this crap?" Cuddy asked her.

"This 'crap' is the best thing that's ever happened in the history of music!" Rachel shot back. "I love Justin Beiber!"

"Wait, hold on!" Cuddy blurted out. "That's a guy singing?"

"Yep," Rachel said. "He's really cute too. All the girls in school are in love with him, me included!"

"Your generation doesn't know what real music is" Cuddy joked.

"We do to! It's better than…whatever it is you listen to!" Cuddy just shook her head and turned off the radio.

"Hey! I was listening to that!" Rachel moaned.

"When you get your own car you can listen to whatever music you want, but as long as we're in my car, I have control of the radio."

"That is so cliché, mommy!"

"It may be, but it's still true" Cuddy shot back. Rachel didn't have a comeback so she just sighed and stared out the window. While lost in deep thought, Rachel's phone vibrated. "Please don't tell me that's another threat text" Cuddy said in frustration. "Not that it's your fault or anything because it's not" she quickly added, trying not to sound like a total bitch. Rachel opened it up. It was from Annabell:

Rach! I'm so

sorry for how

I've treated you

these past few

weeks. I deleted

the online group. Can

you forgive me and

let us go back to

being best friends

like we used to be?

I really miss that!

xoxo Annabell

Rachel wasn't sure what to do. Should she trust Annabell? She wanted nothing more than everything to go back to the way it was. On the other hand, how did she know that this wasn't a trap to further torture and humiliate her? After careful consideration, Rachel decided that it would be best to bring this up in her therapy session. After all, that's why she was going wasn't it; to help her deal with all of this drama? It was then that they arrived at the office of Carol Porter.


	6. Chapter 6

**SCENE 1:**

Carol was ready for Cuddy and Rachel as soon as they walked in. Carol came up, introduced herself and then led them back into her office. She sat down in a chair and Cuddy and Rachel took a seat on the couch directly across from her. "Thank you for coming in today," Carol began the session by saying. Rachel smiled and Cuddy nodded. "So why don't you tell me in your own words why you're here Rachel and what you hope to get out of treatment?" Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She began to tell Carol everything that Mark did to her both before and after House and her mom had found out about everything. Rachel then talked about how Annabell had turned on her and that she was now being bullied at school on a daily basis. She also mentioned her fears about going to trial and Mark being found innocent. Carol nodded compassionately. Finally Rachel mentioned the text Annabell had sent her on the way there.

"She sent you that?" Cuddy blurted out. "No! Absolutely not! I don't want you spending time with that girl ever again."

"What if she truly is sorry?" Rachel asked. "I don't want to be bitter and hold any grudges. Plus I want my life to go back to how it used to be."

"Notice she texted you instead of calling you about this. You can't read a person's emotion through a text" Cuddy explained. "I just don't trust her and I really don't want to see you get hurt again." Rachel sighed as she looked up at Carol with hopeful eyes.

"Why don't we make a compromise?" Carol suggested. "Rachel, how about you invite Annabell over your house, but only while your mom is home? That way, if anything should happen, your mom will be there. Then, if she proves herself to be trustworthy, you can hang out with her alone."

"I guess that sounds fair" Rachel said. She looked up at Cuddy. "What do you think, mommy?" Cuddy paused for a moment.

"I don't know," she finally said. "The thing is Annabell seems very two-faced. So she'll act like the perfect angel around me, but I'm not convinced that she won't try and do something when I'm not around. I'm sorry, Rachel. I know you thought Annabell was your friend, but I think it's time that you forget about her and find new friends."

"And how am I supposed to do that when everyone at school hates me?"

"Transfer schools," Cuddy suggested. "You can go to Plainsboro Academy. They teach grades 7-12, so you never have to see those other kids ever again. How does that sound?"

"But that's private. Isn't it like $5,000 a year? And I'm only in grade 7, so we'd have to pay for like 5 1/2years. That's a lot of money, mommy."

"It's fine. I can quit doing my volunteer work and take a 2nd job elsewhere to help pay for it. Don't worry! I'll find a way to make it work."

"Oh, so you can spend even less time with me?" Rachel complained.

"This seems to be a sensitive spot for you, Rachel" Carol observed. "Do you not feel like your mom gives you enough attention? After all, she's here with you today, isn't she?"

"You're not around when she leaves the house at 7am and doesn't come home until 10 or 11pm and is too tired to talk to me let alone spend time doing something with me, weekends and holiday's included" Rachel told Carol. "She made a promise spend more time with me and now she's talking about getting a second job! In what universe does that make any sense?"

"I just want what's best for you" Cuddy explained.

"Then I want to go back to my regular school" Rachel told her. "Enough with keeping me home and trying to shield me from the rest of the world. I want to go back to a regular routine and spend time with Annabell again."

"I don't know," Cuddy sighed. She looked up at Carol. "I don't think she understands what's best for her right now."

"Of course I do!" Rachel exclaimed. "You're not me, so don't try and act like you know what I do and don't understand."

"Ok," Carol said. "Rachel, your mom has more life experience than you and she is trying to use everything she knows in order to give you the best life possible. And, Lisa, you have to let the girl take some risks and make mistakes. Sure you can offer her advice, but you can't make decisions for her. Otherwise, she'll never learn how to be self-sufficient."

"So, do you think I can go back?" Rachel asked Carol.

"I don't see why not" Carol told her. Rachel turned towards Cuddy.

"Can I, mommy? Please!"

"I don't like the idea," Cuddy told her. "But alright. Though if anything happens while you're there, and I mean anything, I'm immediately pulling you out and transferring you to Plainsboro Academy. Is that understood?" Rachel knew this was the best offer that her mom was going to give her _so she decided it would be best to just accept it on the spot. _

"Yes, that's fine" Rachel told her.

"Good. See, now we're all in agreement" Carol said. The rest of the session was spent addressing Rachel's fears and how to let her emotions out in a healthy manner. "So no Carbs or caffeine after 4pm and no exercising, going on the computer or watching TV within 3 hours of bedtime" Carol concluded the session by saying.

"I'll make sure she does all of those things" Cuddy told Carol. "Thank you very much for your time!"

"My pleasure!" Carol said. Cuddy wrote her a check and then she and Rachel left.

**SCENE 2:**

Rachel returned to school the following morning. She was nervous about going back, but convinced herself that it was the best thing to do. After making it through the first three periods without any incidents, Rachel thought she was in the clear. However, at lunch, Rachel felt a firm tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw that it was Annabell. "Hey," Annabell said as she took a seat next to her. "What's up with not responding to any of my texts?"

"Sorry, been busy" Rachel answered, not bothering to look up from her tray of food.

"That's never stopped you before" Annabell shot back. Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine," Annabell quickly added. "Hey, do you want to come and eat lunch with me? Mandy, Alyssa and Katie are over there too." Rachel nodded.

"Sure," she said as she grabbed both her tray and backpack and followed Annabell over to the table.

"Hey, Rach!" Mandy said as Rachel sat down. "What's up, girl?"

"Nothing much," Rachel responded. She took a bite of her cheese pizza. "You?"

"John and I broke up last week," she said.

"I'm sorry," Rachel consoled.

"Don't be!" Mandy told her. "He was a dick-head anyway!"

"So what happened?" Rachel asked her.

"He cheated on me with some 8th grader" Mandy said with little emotion in her voice. "It doesn't matter. He wasn't all that good in bed anyway." Rachel gave her a look of surprise. Of course, why should she be surprised? After all, this was Mandy, the girl who had lost her virginity at age 11 and was willing to share every detail of it with this rest of the world. "Oh, I'm sorry Rachel; you're a virgin right? No, wait! You aren't." She giggled. Annabell shot her a look.

"Girls! Bathroom, now!" Annabell said. They all got up and followed her down the hall.

"Why aren't we using the one right by the cafeteria?" Rachel asked.

"Because it smells like poo" Annabell told her. "The girl's locker room bathroom is open and way cleaner."

"Yeah, that's true" Rachel said. The five of them walked into the locker room and headed straight towards the bathroom which was all the way in the back. Katie shut and locked the door behind them.

"Why are you locking the door? What if someone else has to use the bathroom?" Rachel asked.

"Then they'll just have to wait until we're done" Katie sneered. Alyssa took out her iPhone and turned it on.

"Ready?" Alyssa asked the group.

"For what?" Rachel asked suspiciously.

"Boy someone is full of questions today" Annabell said. "Are you ready for a little chat, is all?"

"So, Rachel" Mandy started. "Is it true that you did it with Annabell's uncle?"

"What the hell is this? I'm out of here!" Rachel screamed at them. She started to leave, but Katie blocked the doorway.

"Not so fast" Katie said. "We want answers and we want them now!"

"Yeah, it's your fault my uncle is in jail!" Annabell told her. "But no worries. I'll make sure you'll pay for what you did." Rachel backed up. She didn't know what was going to happen, but the suspense was scaring her to death.

"You think you're so tough, huh?" Katie said as she pushed Rachel against the wall. "You get that on camera, Alyssa?" Alyssa nodded. Rachel tried to fight back but Mandy came over, grabbed her by the hair and sent her spiraling towards the ground. Rachel landed with a thud! Both girls started kicking and punching her while Alyssa filmed everything and Annabell stood off to the side laughing hysterically.

"So, what do you think about all of this, Annabell?" Alyssa asked her. Annabell looked straight into the camera.

"I think karma is biting that little bitch right in the ass." Alyssa laughed. Annabell walked over to Rachel. "You have no idea what you've put my entire family through you little skank!" She kicked Rachel in the face causing her lip to split open and begin to bleed. Mandy kicked Rachel in the eye and then again in the throat. Rachel tried to get up, but every time she did one of the girls would push her down, hit her and then kick her either in the head or the stomach. This went on for a good five minutes. Finally, when Rachel stopped struggling they stopped and Alyssa turned her iPhone off. "If you tell anyone about this, we will come and get you. This is just a little precursor to what you will get. So I suggest you keep your pretty little mouth shut!" Annabell threatened. Mandy spat on Rachel as she walked by and the girls left her lying there in agony.

**SCENE 3:**

Cuddy was at home writing up her quarterly report when the phone rang. She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hi. Is this Lisa Cuddy?" a man on the other end asked.

"Yes it is. May I ask who's calling, please?"

"This is Doctor Chang from Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital" he told her. "Your daughter, Rachel, has been involved in an accident and we need you to come down here immediately."

"What's her condition?" Cuddy asked, terrified. All these horrible scenarios ran through her mind on what could have possibly happened to Rachel.

"Someone will go over that with you as soon as you get here" he said.

"Who's her treating doctor?" Cuddy asked.

"Dr. House" the man told her. Cuddy smiled. As much of a pain that House was, he was a brilliant doctor and Cuddy would rather have him treat Rachel than anyone else.

"Ok, thank you. I'll be there in 10 minutes" she said, hanging up the phone and running out the door. Cuddy broke the speed limit and went through two red lights on the way to the hospital, getting there in record time. She parked her car and then ran straight into the lobby. "Where's Rachel Cuddy?" she asked, almost completely out of breath.

"Who are you?" the woman asked. She was obviously new because everyone else there knew her as the former Dean of Medicine.

"Her mother, Lisa Cuddy. Can I see her?"

"Just give me one moment while I look her up for you" the receptionist said as she typed something into the computer. "She's in room 312."

"Thank you," Cuddy said as she rushed towards the elevator. After Cuddy got off on the 3rd floor, she saw House. "House!" Cuddy called out. He turned around. "What's wrong with Rachel?" Tears were falling down her face at that point.

"She's suffered a minor concussion, has some bruised ribs, broke her left arm and has a black eye" he told her. "Other than that, she's in stable condition. You can go talk to the little brat if you want." And with that he walked away. Cuddy sprinted down the hall until she got to room 312. The door was open and Cuddy walked in, seeing Rachel lying in bed with her back towards the door.

"Rachel," Cuddy called out. She heard Rachel groan. "Rachel, are you awake?"

"Yeah," Rachel muttered. "I don't know for how long I'll be, though. House gave me these pain killers and they're making me really sleepy." Cuddy walked in and sat down in a chair right next to Rachel's bed.

"Oh, honey! What happened?" Cuddy asked as she tried to hold back her tears in an attempt to stay strong for her daughter. She went to hug Rachel, but Rachel winced in pain the second her mother touched her. "I'm sorry," Cuddy said, immediately pulling her hand back and sitting down again.

"The video" Rachel whispered. "They made the video." Cuddy looked confused. "Annabell, Mandy, Alyssa and Katie. They did this to me and they made the video." Cuddy was beyond furious. In fact, there wasn't a word strong enough to describe how she was feeling. "Can I see your iPad real quick?" Rachel asked, breaking her train of thought. Cuddy nodded as she took it out of her purse and handed it to Rachel. After a couple of minutes, Rachel handed it back. "This is it. This is the video." It was titled 'Skank Payback'. Cuddy pressed the play button and watched in horror as the next five minutes unfolded…

_ "You think you're so clever bitch! But what are you going to do now that mommy's not around? Mommy can't protect you now. No! We own you, bitch!" Katie shouted as she kicked Rachel in the face. Rachel yelped in pain. _

_ "Shut up!" Annabell screamed. "You deserve every bit of pain that you're getting. My uncle is rotting away in a jail cell because of you. How dare you rip my family apart!" Rachel tried to get up, but Mandy grabbed her, twisted her arm back and threw her across the room. Then Katie stomped on her arm. "Don't try to fight back. It's four against one. The sooner you give in, the sooner we'll be finished with you." Rachel screamed as Mandy kicked her in the side._

_ "I thought we told you to shut up, bitch!" Katie said as she slapped Rachel across the mouth…_

Cuddy felt sick to her stomach as she watched this video. "I am so sorry!" she said, unable to hold the tears back anymore. "I am so sorry I couldn't be there to protect you."

"You tried" Rachel said. "You warned me not to go back to school and I didn't listen. It's not your fault. It's mine."

"Don't say that!" Cuddy said as she walked over to her daughter's bedside and pushed a strand of hair behind Rachel's ear. "You did nothing wrong! These girls are sick individuals! I'm calling Detective Brown right now." Cuddy turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Rachel called out. Cuddy stopped dead in her tracks and spun around. "Please don't leave me. I don't want to be alone."

"Ok," Cuddy said. "I'll see if I can get a signal here." Luckily she was able to and she called Detective Brown and told her everything. "Ok, so I'll email you the link to the video" Rachel heard Cuddy say. "And what about the girls? I want to press charges against all of them. Also, if they go anywhere near my daughter again, I want them arrested! Ok, I'll call my lawyer and get the forms. I'll have them filled out and faxed to you by end of business day today. Ok, thank you. Bye, now!"

"Mommy?" Rachel called out. Cuddy looked up.

"Yes sweetie?"

"I want to transfer schools. I don't want to go back there ever again." Cuddy got up and lightly stroked Rachel's face.

"And you don't have to" she told Rachel. "I'll call them up first thing tomorrow morning and fill out the application for you." Rachel smiled.

"Thanks!"

"Not a problem!" Cuddy responded. Rachel was beginning to get very drowsy and she was finally overcome by sleep. Once Cuddy was sure Rachel was completely out she got up and walked right outside of the room in order to call the lawyers office. She told them fax all of the necessary forms to House's office and then left House a voicemail instructing him to bring them up to Rachel's room. Cuddy was just about to call Wilson in order to tell him to check the fax machine when she heard screaming.

"No!" Rachel shouted. "I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me. Please!" Cuddy ran back into Rachel's room and saw she was having a night terror. She ran over to Rachel and began to nudge her lightly.

"Rachel, honey, wake up!" Cuddy said. Rachel's eyes snapped open. "Relax. Everything's ok. I'm here now." Rachel quickly glanced around the room as she tried to catch her breath. "You just had a bad dream, ok?" Cuddy told her. Rachel nodded as she slowly came back to her senses. "Those girls aren't coming anywhere near here. I'll stay here all night and, if I can't be here, House will be and he won't let anyone come near you."

"Ok," Rachel muttered. "Am I weak for being scared? I mean I know they're not here now, but I'm still terrified that they'll find out where I am and will come and try to hurt me again. Do you think I'm overreacting?"

"No. There's nothing wrong with being scared" Cuddy assured her. "It's a perfectly natural response considering all of the trauma you've been through lately. In fact, I'd be concerned if you weren't scared. Do you want to talk at all? About anything?" Cuddy added. Rachel put her head back down on the pillow.

"How long do I have to be in here for?"

"Just overnight," Cuddy told her. "They want to make sure that your concussion is completely gone. " Rachel nodded.

"What about Annabell and the rest of the girls? What if they try to come after me again right after I'm released?"

"That's why I'm going to keep you home until you get started at Plainsboro Academy. I'll pick up your schoolwork like I've been doing for the past few days. Also, I didn't let Mark come near you at all, did I?" Rachel shook her head. "So trust me. If I can keep Mark away, then I can sure as hell keep four spoiled teenaged brats away." Rachel cracked a smile. "Anything else you want to talk about?" Rachel hesitated.

"Um…since I'm definitely transferring schools…are you going to have to take a second job?" Cuddy paused for a moment.

"I really don't see any other way we'd be able to afford it. But it'll be during the same hours that I was doing the volunteering, so I'll still be home the same amount of time." Rachel sighed. Here she was about to go to a school where she didn't know anyone and her mom, the only constant in her life, wasn't going to be around to help her adjust. "I know this is hard for you and I hate having to be away from you so much, but I'm just doing this because I love you and I want what's best for you."

"There's no other way?" Rachel clarified. Cuddy shook her head.

"Unless they offer you a scholarship there is no other way. I'm sorry."

"What do I have to do to get a scholarship?" Rachel asked, still feeling hopeful.

"I'll ask for some information tomorrow, but I don't want you to get your hopes up because those scholarships are very difficult to get."

"So you think I'm stupid?" Rachel turned away from her mom.

"No!" Cuddy exclaimed. "Absolutely not! You are a brilliant girl. I'm just being realistic is all. Even people with stellar grades and extensive extracurricular activities don't get these scholarships. However, not only do I fully support you applying for everything you can, but I also highly encourage it." Rachel forced a smile.

"Ok, I understand" Rachel said. "But I definitely won't get anything if I don't try. So what's there to lose?"

"Nothing," Cuddy agreed. "Do you want to keep talking?"

"You can stop if you want" Rachel said. "If you're getting tired, I understand."

"That's not what I asked! Do YOU want to keep talking?" Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

"Not really," she said. "I'm hungry. Do you know when they serve dinner?" Cuddy looked at her watch. It was 6pm.

"Soon, hopefully. I can go ask someone if you want." Cuddy offered. Rachel nodded. "Ok, I'll be back in a few!" Cuddy left and Rachel stared up at the ceiling. A minute later, House came strolling in.

"Where's Cuddy?" he asked.

"She left for a couple of minutes" Rachel told him. "Why? Do you need something?"

"Give these to your mom for me and tell her she owes me $1.20 for printing fees." He handed them to her and then sat down in the chair that Cuddy had just been occupying. "Can you keep a secret?" Rachel nodded.

"I didn't tell anyone about your sword, did I?"

"Fair enough." He pulled a blue velvet box out of his pocket and handed it to Rachel. "Open it!" Rachel did. Inside of it was a diamond ring with a thin white gold band. On the inside of the band the words _Everlasting Love_ were inscribed.

"Wow! It's beautiful" Rachel told him. She closed the box and gave it back to him. He put it back in his coat pocket.

"I'm going to propose to Cuddy" House told Rachel. "I just have to wait until the timing is right."

"Do it now!" Rachel said. "As soon as she gets back. She could use some good news right about now!"

"It's also big life-altering news. And we haven't exactly been going out for that long."

"How long have you two known each other?" Rachel asked. House thought for a moment.

"Since my first year in medical school. Probably close to 20 years."

"Do it! Come on, House! Ask mommy!"

"Ask me what?" Cuddy asked as she walked into the room. They both looked up at her.

"House has a really important question for you mommy!" Rachel exclaimed, barely able to contain her excitement.

"This better not be you asking me for a closer parking space again, House!" Cuddy said. "Because if it is…" House pressed his lips against hers and put his arm around her waist. She wrapped both of her arms around his broad shoulders enjoying his tender embrace. The kiss must have lasted a good 15 or 20 seconds. They finally let go of each other. House glanced over at Rachel who gave him thumbs up. "So, what is it that you wanted to ask me, House?" Cuddy asked, quickly trying to re-gain her composure. House held both her hands as he knelt down on one knee. He looked up at Cuddy, staring straight into her bluish-green eyes. After a few seconds silence, he took the box out of his pocket and opened it.

"Lisa Cuddy, will you marry me?"


	7. Chapter 7

**SCENE 1:**

Cuddy just stared at House in shock. Did he really just ask her that? She had secretly been hoping for a long time that he'd ask for her hand in marriage, but the memories his Vicodin addiction and crashing his car into her house a decade earlier flooded her mind. Was he really the best person for Rachel to be around? On the other hand, Rachel and House seemed to share a special bond and maybe House was the person she needed most right now and Rachel always seemed happy when he was around. With all of this in mind, Cuddy took a deep breath. "I'll marry you, but on one condition" House looked up at her, feeling both surprised and worried by her answer. "Promise me that Rachel and I will always come before your precious Vicodin". Without a moment's hesitation, House nodded as a feeling of relief flushed over him.

"I lost you once to Vicodin" he said. "I don't want to lose you ever again. You have yourself a promise!" Cuddy smiled.

"Then yes!" she exclaimed. "Yes, of course I'll marry you!" Tears of joy flowed down her face as she gave him a bear-tight hug. He kissed her softly on the cheek and slowly moved down her jawline until he reached her lips and planted a huge kiss there. House grabbed Cuddy's left hand and slid the ring on her finger, before kissing the palm of her hand.

"I'm so happy for you two" Rachel said. "This is so exciting!" Cuddy ran over and gave Rachel a hug.

"Rachel, would you like to be the flower girl for our wedding?" Rachel smiled and nodded.

"Yes! Oh, I'd love to! Thank you!" For the first time in her life Rachel smiled a genuine smile.

"Great!" Cuddy said. She turned towards House. "As soon as the trial with Rachel is over we'll start planning the wedding. You don't mind waiting, do you?" House shook his head.

"I waited 10 years to ask you to marry me. I think I can wait a few extra months to start all of the tedious wedding planning, which you'll be doing almost all of." Cuddy rolled her eyes. "When's the hearing?" he quickly added.

"February 23" she told him. "Then it'll probably be another month or so if we end up going to trial, which I tend to think, we will be." Cuddy glanced over at Rachel and gave her a quick wink as she said this.

"Hey, House!" Rachel called out. He looked over at her. "Now that you're engaged to my mom, you're going to have to buy her something for Valentine's Day." Both he and Cuddy let out a chuckle.

"This was more than enough!" Cuddy said. "Thank you, House! Thank you for everything!" He smiled.

"Yeah, well, don't expect me to always be this nice and romantic" he quickly added. "Looks like Wilson owes me $50."

"For what?" Cuddy asked suspiciously as she placed her hand on her hip.

"He didn't think you'd say yes!"

"You two bet on my response to your marriage proposal?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yep," House answered, looking smug. Cuddy just shook her head.

"That $50 better be put towards my Valentine's Day gift" Cuddy said half-jokingly.

"She'll take the money too" Rachel added.

"Thank you, Rachel" House said sarcastically.

"Not a problem" Rachel responded with a smile.

"I thought you said I didn't have to buy you a Valentine's Day gift?" House said in a mock complaining tone while he looked Cuddy straight in the eye.

"That was before you told me about your little bet" Cuddy said. "Oh, and don't worry. I'm not letting Wilson off the hook either!" she added with a cunning smile.

**SCENE 2:**

Rachel was released from the hospital the following morning. Cuddy had filled out all of the forms, sent them over to the lawyer's office, called up Plainsboro Academy and received a copy of the application all by noon. She was sitting at the kitchen table filling out the application when Rachel walked in and stood in the doorway with her arms folded. "Do you need something?" Cuddy asked as she looked up.

"No, not really" Rachel said shaking her head.

"Not really or no?" Cuddy asked, giving Rachel her full attention. She wanted to make sure that Rachel wasn't hiding anything after all of the dark secrets that had recently surfaced.

"It's nothing important" Rachel said as she started to fidget. "You can go back to whatever it is that you were doing."

"I don't care if it's not important. This can wait! I want to hear what you have to say, regardless" Cuddy told her. "Sit down!" So Rachel did.

"The thing is…I haven't been totally honest with you" Rachel confessed.

"Oh?" Cuddy responded with an innate curiosity.

"Um…you see…ever since you started having me eat more…oh god, this is so hard for me to say. Promise me you won't hate me?"

"Rachel, nothing you say or do can make me hate you. I promise!"

"Well, since you've been making me eat more…I've been making myself throw-up after each meal. I weighed myself today and I'm only 89 pounds." She looked up nervously at her mom. Cuddy just sat there with tears forming in her eyes.

"Rachel, you've been to the hospital more times in this past month than I care to count! What's it going to take for you to realize that you're killing yourself?" Rachel felt her stomach churn.

"I knew you'd hate me" Rachel muttered. "I never should have said anything!" She got up and started to leave.

"Sit!" Cuddy ordered and Rachel did. "Did you ever make yourself throw-up before I started giving you the Ensures?" Rachel took a deep breath.

"Just a little bit" Rachel answered, staring at the ground and clasping her hands together in her lap.

"What's a little bit?"

"Like…um…one or two times a week"

"For how long?"

"The past three years" Rachel answered nervously. Cuddy was shocked.

"Just tell me one thing" Cuddy said, choking on her words. "Why?"

"Annabell showed me how to back in 4th grade. She said that the reason why I was getting boobs before everyone else was because I was fat. I tried not eating, but you always seemed to notice if I ate less than usual. When I told her that, she told me I could eat like normal and still lose weight if I made myself throw-up after 1 meal. She said I'd still be getting nourishment from the other two meals, which would be plenty. She said she was doing me a favor." Rachel added.

"How did I not see this?" Cuddy asked aloud while shaking her head. "All the signs were there. You always run to the bathroom immediately after dinner. You only drink water or diet soda with all of your meals. Now I know it was in order to make the purging process easier. And, on top of all that, you've been asking me for years to change jobs and spend more time with you. Wait! Is that why you're doing this? Because you feel like I've been ignoring you? I can take another job with fewer hours and we can sell this house and move to an apartment. Will that be enough for you to stop killing yourself?"

"I'm sorry," Rachel whispered as tears rolled down her face. "I just wanted to be honest with you."

"I don't know what you want me to say!" Cuddy put her face in her hands and began to cry. Feeling guilty, Rachel got up and this time her mom didn't try and stop her. She went into her room, slammed the door shut and buried herself underneath her covers.

After Rachel had left, Cuddy did the only thing she could think of which was to call House up. "Miss me already, Cuddles?" he answered after the third ring.

"House, I need your help!" Cuddy said with a sense of urgency in her voice. "Rachel just confessed to me that she's been bulimic for the past three years. I don't know what to do. I feel horrible for saying this, but this girl has more problems than I can handle. And she doesn't want to go into an inpatient facility. I don't want to force her into one, but I'm not equipped to deal with a problem of her severity. What do you think I should do?"

"There's a reason why you're paying for a therapist" House answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Call her and don't hang up until you get an answer that you're satisfied with."

"I can try that" Cuddy said. Then suddenly she began to panic. "Oh God! Rachel asked me not to hate her and I got mad at her and when she asked me if I did hate her, I didn't deny it, House! I didn't deny it! She's in her room now. What if she's trying to hurt herself again? I can't even bear the thought of that!" Cuddy was hyperventilating by this point.

"Lisa! Relax!" This caught her attention because House only called her by her first name when he was discussing a serious matter with her. "Take a deep breath!" So she did. "Better?"

"Yep."

"I want you to get off the phone with me walk your butt down to Rachel's room, knock and, if she says to go away, walk in anyway. Make it blatantly clear that you don't hate her and collaborate with her on how to best help her. That way she feels like she at least has a say in her fate."

"Wow, House! That sounds like it might actually work."

"What, didn't know I was capable of being a compassionate people person? I am, but it makes life way more interesting for the both of us when I act like an arrogant jerk."

"Um…ok. Well, thank you for the advice." Cuddy said, not quite sure whether or not he was joking.

"Anytime, Cuddles!" he said as he hung up. Cuddy immediately ran over to Rachel's room and knocked on the door.

"What do you want?" Rachel sneered as she sat on her bed feeling like a total failure.

"I want to talk to you" Cuddy told her. "Please open up!"

Go away!" Rachel shouted. "I want nothing to do with you right now!" Rachel was pissed off at her mom for what she had said in the kitchen and just wanted to be left alone with her thoughts. Cuddy took a deep breath before opening Rachel's door. "What the hell? Did you not hear what I just said? In case you didn't, I said to go away" she told her in a very snotty tone. Normally that kind of behavior would have earned Rachel a slap right across the mouth, but Cuddy knew that Rachel was hurting and didn't mean a word of what she said. This wasn't Rachel talking. This was the disease talking, so Cuddy decided to let it slide this time.

"I know you don't want me here right now," Cuddy answered. "But you came to me for help before and I have no intention of leaving until I've done just that."

"But you said…" Rachel started to say.

"I know" Cuddy interjected. "First off, I don't hate you in the least. I'm not even angry with you. I'm just really concerned, ok?" Rachel nodded. "Second, I'm glad you came and talked to me. It means a lot that you trust me enough to come to me with this sort of thing." Rachel flashed a smile real quick. "You have to stop hurting yourself, though, honey. You're a beautiful girl and I hate seeing you destroy your body. It's so hard watching someone you love slowly kill themselves and you don't even know how to help them." Cuddy fought to hold back tears. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Would you be willing to just consider going into the intensive care program? It would be for three weeks and I promise that I'll visit you every single day."

"I don't want to go. I told you that already!" Rachel snapped.

"Ok, then, what do you want me to do to help you?" Cuddy asked. Rachel thought for a moment.

"Were you serious about that offer before?" she nervously asked.

"Which offer?"

"Never mind. I'm just being stupid."

"No, you're not. Please tell me. I want to know which offer you're talking about." Cuddy asked as she sat down on the bed next to Rachel.

"The one about you getting a less demanding job" Rachel answered in a barely audible voice. Cuddy heard exactly what she said, though.

"Do you think it would help?" Rachel nodded.

"The problem is, Rachel, I don't see how I'd be able to send you to Plainsboro Academy if I ended up doing that"

"Didn't you say that grandma had offered to help us?" Rachel asked hopefully. "Maybe we can live with her to save money. Or maybe she can pay for it."

"Rachel, that's too much to ask of your grandma. When I said she offered to help I meant maybe loan me $100 or watch you for a couple of days. That's it!"

"Oh," Rachel responded in a despondent voice. "Never mind!"

"I promise that if I can come up with a way to spend more time with you while still being able to pay for your tuition, I will do just that" Cuddy said as she placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel smiled.

"Thanks," she said. "I'm sorry for acting like a total bitch! You don't deserve to be treated that way."

"It's fine" Cuddy told her. "When you've been through a lot, sometimes you just snap. That's what happened with me in the kitchen before. I guess you truly are my daughter." Rachel giggled.

"But I'm adopted. You know that. You know I'm not your real daughter." Cuddy gave Rachel a quick hug.

"Regardless of whether or not we share the same DNA, you are my real daughter!" That statement meant a lot to Rachel and Cuddy could tell by the expression on her face. "I'm on your side, no matter what. Don't you forget that!"

"I won't" Rachel said. "You still coming to my piano recital on Sunday?"

"2pm at the local community theatre?" Cuddy clarified. Rachel nodded.

"Yep, Sunday the 15th. The day after Valentine's Day. Hey, mommy, you know what would have been really cool?"

"What?"

"If House had asked you to marry him on Valentine's Day. That would have been so romantic. Just think, every year your anniversary would be on the day of love." Cuddy smiled.

"I'm just happy that he asked me, period." She paused for a second. "Rachel, how do you feel about having a father figure in your life? It's going to be a big change since you've never had one before."

"Yeah, but it's House" Rachel said. "He's already like a dad to me!" Cuddy smiled when she heard Rachel say that.

"Good. Do you want me to leave you alone?" Rachel nodded. "I just need a few minutes to myself. I'll be out in a little while for lunch."

"Sounds good" Cuddy said as she shut the door behind her.

**SCENE 3:**

It was Valentine's Day when Rachel woke up to the delectable smell of eggs and bacon. Normally Rachel didn't like to eat a heavy breakfast, but the smell was just too good to resist. She got out of bed and waltzed into the kitchen. Much to her surprise, House standing over the stove cooking up a big breakfast. Cuddy was sitting down at the table with a cup of coffee in one hand and the latest edition ofthe_ 'Wall Street Journal' _in the other hand_. _"Morning," Rachel muttered as she poured herself a glass of OJ.

"Morning, sweetie!" Cuddy responded.

"Jeez you look like you just rolled out of bed" House said.

"That's because I did just roll out of bed, silly" Rachel responded. She sat down at the kitchen table and took a sip from her OJ. Suddenly Rachel began to feel guilty. She wanted to eat all this really good food. She knew it was going to be good without even tasting it because House was an amazing cook. The problem was, as much as she didn't want to hurt House's feelings by not eating it, Rachel couldn't stop picturing the gloppy, slimy grease and fat clogging her arteries. For a moment, Rachel considered making up a plate with an acceptable amount of food and taking it into her room in order to dispose of it in secret. Then she realized that wouldn't work because Cuddy already knew all of her little tricks. Rachel also knew that she couldn't throw it up afterwards because Cuddy had her on this new two hour observation thing after all meals. Then it hit her; exercise. No one would think anything bad if she went out for a run or was doing crunches.

"I'll be right back!" Rachel said as she got up from the table. Cuddy got up and followed her in order to make sure she wasn't headed for the bathroom. When Cuddy saw Rachel go into her room, she sighed a breath of relief and went back into the kitchen. Rachel, meanwhile, was looking up the amount of calories in both eggs and bacon. If she had 2 eggs and three strips of bacon with her one glass of orange juice, she would consume about 450 calories. Then she looked up different exercises and decided that she would jog for half an hour and do fast paced aerobic dancing for another hour. That should burn off all of the necessary calories. Feeling satisfied and reassured by this information, Rachel went back into the kitchen and sat down. Cuddy, however, decided to throw a curveball into the mix by making her drink half an Ensure in addition to everything else. Rachel panicked as she tried to figure out how much time to add on to each of the exercises in order to make up for the extra calories. She decided to go jogging for an additional half an hour.

**SCENE 3:**

Two weeks later, Rachel weighed herself in the hopes that she had lost or at least maintained weight. She closed her eyes as she stepped onto the scale. Nervously, Rachel opened up her eyes. 95lbs! She now weighed 95lbs! Rachel burst into tears. Here she was eating the same amount of food and even burning extra calories, yet she somehow managed to gain 6lbs. It was as if fate was conspiring against her. Rachel wanted to make herself purge, but fought the urge and went to go find her mom instead. "Mommy?" Rachel called out. "Mommy?" Rachel wandered around the house finally spotting Cuddy in the basement organizing some shelves. "We need to talk" Rachel said. Cuddy looked up.

"Is everything ok?" Rachel shook her head.

"I gained 6lbs in only 2 weeks. I'm still eating the same amount and I'm even exercising way more than I used to. What's wrong with me? I can't even do this right!" Cuddy ran over and hugged Rachel.

"Come on! Let's go upstairs." Rachel nodded as she followed Cuddy up the stairs and they sat on the living room couch. "Rachel even though you may not like it, it's very good that you're gaining weight. And when you exercise you sometimes can actually gain weight because your muscle mass is increasing. So, even if you lose 3lbs of fat, you can gain 6lbs in muscle, which would show up as 3lbs of weight gain on the scale."

"Do you think that's what is happening to me?" Cuddy nodded.

"I wouldn't worry about it" she told Rachel.

"I just hate it! I feel like such a failure. Maybe that's why nobody wants me around."

"I want you around!" Cuddy told her. "And I'm not just saying that. Think about it, I wouldn't have paid as much money as I did to adopt you if I didn't want you."

"So I'm a purchase. I'm no different than when you go out to the mall and buy those pair of jeans that you just LOVE!" She shook her head. "One question."

"Shoot!"

"If you supposedly love me and care about me so much, then why did you miss my piano recital last Sunday? The very one that you promised me numerous times you'd come to?" She looked up at Cuddy with a hurt expression on her face.

"I'm sorry," Cuddy said with sincerity. "But I told you that there was an emergency. A doctor at Newark Hospital gave a patient some medication that had a bad interaction with this medication that they were already on all because they didn't bother look at the patient's chart. As a result, the patient almost died and is now suing the hospital for $100,000 due to medical negligence." Cuddy looked up at Rachel, who had moved as far away as possible from her. "This patient specifically asked for me. I had no choice but to take the case if I wanted to keep my job. Please try to understand! I wanted to be there, but I just couldn't."

"There's always an excuse with you!" Rachel shouted in agony as she got up off the couch, stormed into her room and slammed the door shut. Rachel lay on her bed thinking. The hearing was the following day. Rachel was terrified of both having to face Annabell and Mark and the possibility that her mom would bail on her when she needed her the most. Apparently the words 'I promise' meant nothing to Lisa Cuddy. Rachel thought about running away, but didn't know where to go. She thought about going to House's condo, but decided that would be one of the first places that her mom would look. Then it hit her. Rachel's Aunt Julia and her mom weren't on speaking terms, yet her aunt still was in contact with her once in a while. Her mom would never think of looking there and Rachel doubted that her aunt would call up and rat her out. Rachel packed a bag, climbed out of her window and ran down the street. She kept on running until she reached her aunt's house which was about 3 miles away.

"Please be home, please be home" Rachel prayed aloud. There was a car in the driveway. That was definitely a good sign. Rachel walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, the door opened and her aunt was standing there.

"Rachel, hi! What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" Rachel asked. "I'll explain everything once we're inside." Her aunt opened up the door and led Rachel in. They sat down on the couch in her living room.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Rachel shook her head. "So, what brings you here?" Rachel told her everything that had just happened as her aunt slowly nodded her head. "You know, Rachel, I'm going to have to call your mom and let her know you're here. But, if you want, I can see if she'll let you spend the night, seeing that you already packed a bag for yourself, and give you both a chance to cool off. I'll also ask your mom if I can drive you to your hearing tomorrow and we'll all meet outside of the courthouse before the meeting." Rachel wasn't thrilled with this, but decided to give it a go. So, her aunt got up and called Cuddy, who was none the pleased with Rachel.

"Thank you for calling me, Julia" Cuddy said. "And I appreciate the offer, but I want Rachel home with me tonight. Tell her I'll be there in 15 minutes."

"Ok," Julia said. "But please be easy on her because Rachel doesn't need someone to yell at her. She needs someone who will hold her hand every step of the way, not promise to hold her hand and then walk off at the last minute."

"Julia, with all due respect, you've never had kids. You can't be their best friend. Sometimes you have to be hard on them and show them who's in charge, even if they hate you for it."

"And Lisa, with all due respect, Rachel said she tried to talk with you, but she's not sure if you even care about her because you're always breaking your promises. I'm not saying that you're right or she's right, but I just want you to see things from her point of view."

"I've been trying to help her" Cuddy pointed out. "I've been understanding and compassionate."

"Let me ask you something, Lisa" Julia said to Cuddy. "If you were to get a call from a potential client tomorrow and the only time they could discuss things with you is during Rachel's hearing, what would you do? Would you help the client or go to the hearing and support your daughter?"

"Julia, don't do this to me! You know if I don't accept clientele I don't get paid which means I lose my job and then we lose our house. Everything I do is in Rachel's best interest!"

"Really?" Julia argued. "Because Rachel told me that she didn't care if you guys lived in a 1 bedroom apartment and she slept on the couch if it meant you could be there for her more often. Quit the job! You know there are plenty of others that you're qualified for. Hell, you can get a job as a Registered Nurse tomorrow if you wanted to."

"Thank you very much for telling me what I should do with my life, Julia!" Cuddy said sarcastically. "But I know Rachel better than you do, so don't you dare tell me how I should parent MY daughter. I'm leaving now. Go tell Rachel I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Lisa…" her aunt shouted but Cuddy had already hung up. "Damn it!" She walked over to Rachel. "I'm sorry, Rachel. I tried, but your mom just won't listen to reason. Anyway, she'll be here in a few minutes." Her aunt got up and left the room, leaving Rachel alone with her thoughts. Rachel tried to hold the tears back, but she couldn't fight them anymore. In order to avoid anyone seeing her nervous breakdown, Rachel got up and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Before she knew it, she realized she was standing in the shower with her clothes on and had no recollection what-so-ever of how she had gotten there. "Maybe I do need this intensive program thing. Maybe mommy was right. I'm a mess and anyone would get fed-up eventually when dealing with a stubborn screw-up." She turned the shower off and just stood there. It was then that Rachel Cuddy decided to accept help.

A few minutes later, Rachel heard her aunt calling her saying that her mom was there. "Rachel," Cuddy called out.

"In here," Rachel shouted. Cuddy ran over to the bathroom door. "I'm sorry, mom. I'm so sorry."

"Rachel, its fine. Please open up." So Rachel did. "What happened, honey? Why are you all wet?" Rachel ran over and hugged her mom.

"You were right mom! I decided that I want to do it!"

"Do what?"

"I want to do that 3 week program at the hospital. I'm out of control and it's not going to get any better if I don't get help. Can you get more information about it after the hearing tomorrow?" Cuddy nodded.

"Let's talk more about after we get home and have you change into some dry clothes."

"Actually I have some with me. I was planning on staying overnight when I ran off. I'll just change into those."

"Oh, ok" Cuddy responded. "Come out when you're done. I'll be waiting in the car." So Rachel changed her clothes, got into her mom's car and left.

"I'm sorry that you have such a screw-up as a daughter" Rachel said, breaking the silence. "I'm sure this isn't what you were hoping for when you decided to adopt me."

"It's fine" Cuddy said. "You've been through a lot. We'll get through this together. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, House and I have a little surprise for you when you get home."

"A surprise!" Rachel squealed. "Can you tell me what it is?"

"You'll see when we get home!"

"Oh! I can't wait!" A couple of minutes later, they were pulling into the driveway. Rachel sprinted out of the car and ran into the house. She ran up the stairs and saw House sitting on the couch. "Hi, House! Mommy says you two have a surprise for me! What is it?" House looked up.

"Well, it was mostly your mom's idea. She even had me pick the thing up and bring it over before…completely against my will, by the way!"

"It was not against your will and you know that!" Cuddy said as she walked into the house and shut the front door behind her. "Your surprise is in your room. I hope you like it!" Rachel ran over to her room and swung the door open. Sitting on her bed was a German Shepherd puppy.

"Oh my God!" Rachel ran over and began petting it. "Mommy, House come here!" Cuddy was in the room a few seconds later. "What's its name?"

"I figured that I'd let you name her."

"Sophie!" Rachel exclaimed without hesitation. "I want to call her Sophie."

"I like that. German Shepherds are very loyal and great watch dogs, so you'll have a new friend and will be safe as long as she's around."

"I love her!" Rachel squealed. "She's so cute! I can't believe you guys did this!"

"I'm glad you like her. By the way, do you still want to go to treatment because I understand if you want to stay home with your new friend?"

"Ok, I want to stay home then!" Rachel turned to Sophie and started petting and hugging her. "Oh, Sophie! I love you!" Sophie licked Rachel in the face. "You're just too sweet!" Cuddy stood there smiling as she watched her daughter be the happiest that she had been in a very long time.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I am neither a lawyer nor a law student, so please try and forgive me if I have any inaccuracies with my facts during the courtroom scene. As always, please read and review! Hope you enjoy it!

**SCENE 1:**

Rachel woke up the following morning to being licked in the face. She sat up and rubbed her eyes as she slowly came to her senses. Sophie was sitting on the edge of Rachel's bed, just staring at her. "Hey, Sophie!" Rachel squealed as she petted the puppy. "Do you want to go out? Come on." Rachel picked Sophie up and carried her downstairs. She then put her down, opened the door and walked out. "Come on, Sophie! Out here. This is where you go potty." Rachel said as Sophie sat there staring up at her with wide eyes. Rachel started to walk further into the yard and Sophie followed. She stood outside and began to shiver as Sophie sniffed around searching for the perfect spot.

"Rachel?" She didn't realize anyone else was outside. Rachel turned around and saw her mom standing there. "Rachel, its 30 degrees out. Why are you barefoot and wearing only a t-shirt? This is the perfect way to catch pneumonia, you know."

"Sorry, mom. I had to let Sophie out."

"Fine! Next time put on a jacket and some slippers."

"Ok, I will! So, what are you doing out here all by yourself?"

"I just finished putting the garbage cans out by the curb" Cuddy told her. She glanced over at Sophie. "I think Sophie's done. Bring her back in and I'll make you a warm breakfast before the hearing." Rachel nodded as she went over and called Sophie. Surprisingly, Sophie listened very well and followed Rachel right into the house. Rachel had half a bowl of oatmeal, one slice of dry toast and half an Ensure (courtesy of Cuddy) for breakfast. Rachel was about to walk into the bathroom when Cuddy grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. "I realize you're going to need to use the bathroom in order to get ready and frankly I don't have time to stand out here all morning in order to make sure you're not purging. So I'm just going to trust that you're not going to do that. If I find out that you did do that, however, you can say goodbye to Sophie and pack your bags for the inpatient program. Is that understood?" Rachel nodded.

"Ok, mommy. I promise I won't."

"Good!" Cuddy said. "We're leaving in 45 minutes. Make sure you're ready to go by then."

"Ok, no problem" Rachel said as she walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Rachel quickly hopped into the shower, brushed her teeth, did her hair and got dressed. She was ready 15 minutes early and decided to spend some time with Sophie.

"Hey, Sophie! Come here, girl!" Rachel called out. Sophie came running right over to her and sat down. "Good girl!" Rachel said as she pet Sophie. Rachel knelt down beside her and Sophie ran over and started licking her like crazy in the face. Rachel began to giggle. "Aw. I love you too! Just don't mess up my hair make-up too much, ok? Oh, who cares! I can always fix it! Come here you cutie-pie!" Rachel sat up and was petting Sophie who had lay down and curled up next to her. Two minutes later, Sophie was fast asleep. Seeing that, Rachel quietly got up and fixed her hair and make-up real quick. A couple of minutes later, Cuddy announced that she was ready to leave.

"Is House coming?" Rachel asked.

"He wanted to, but he has an important case right now." Seeing the disappointment on Rachel's face, Cuddy went on to explain. "House has already walked out during the middle of his last two cases because he claimed they weren't intellectually stimulating enough for him. So now his two choices are working this case to the very end or joining the end of the unemployment line."

"Oh, ok" Rachel said. "What are we going to do with Sophie while we're gone?"

"There's a crate in the basement" Cuddy told her. "Fill her bowl up with water, stick it in there and then put her in." So Rachel did just that. Then she and her mom were off. The whole ride over, Rachel could barely breathe. She was terrified of having to face both Mark and Annabell all while having to share her story. Her biggest fear is that she would tell the truth and no one would believe her; that Mark and Annabell would be found innocent and could hurt her again. Cuddy must have sensed Rachel's nervousness because, while stopped at a red light, she turned towards Rachel.

"You're going to do just fine. I have complete faith in you!" Rachel forced a smile. The only thing that made her feel remotely safe was knowing that she had Sophie at home. Still, Sophie was only a puppy and could be very easily intimidated if not hurt or killed. Rachel gulped. She would feel horrible if anything happened to Sophie. Sophie was like her very own baby that she needed to protect and take care of.

A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of the courthouse and got out. Rachel immediately saw Annabell standing by the courthouse doors. "Mommy, look" Rachel whispered to Cuddy as she nervously pointed towards Annabell and her mom.

"Don't even look at them, even if they are to say something" Cuddy instructed Rachel. "Just walk right past them and act as if they aren't even there." Rachel nodded as she grasped a hold of Cuddy's hand. They slowly walked up the stairs as Rachel tightened her grasp on Cuddy's hand and held her breath. Annabell gave Rachel the look of death as she and Cuddy walked by but neither party said a word to one another. Upon walking into the courthouse, Rachel and Cuddy were immediately greeted by their lawyer, Mr. Gray.

"Hi, Rachel! How are you?" he asked her.

"I'm ok."

"Don't be nervous. You're going to do just fine in there" he assured her. "Just tell the truth and know that no one is going to hurt you." Rachel nodded, but that didn't ease her nerves one bit. She turned towards Cuddy.

"I need to use the bathroom! I'll be right back!"

"Ok," Cuddy told her. Rachel ran into the bathroom and immediately threw-up, but this time it wasn't on purpose. She was scared that Cuddy would find out, not believe that it was an accident and then would send her away to the hospital. Rachel flushed the toilet, thoroughly rinsed her mouth out with water, popped a couple of mints into her mouth and walked out of the bathroom. Rachel looked around and spotted Cuddy sitting on a bench. She walked over and sat down beside her.

"I don't feel good" Rachel said.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel nauseous" Rachel said.

"Did you throw-up?" Rachel nervously nodded.

"But it wasn't on purpose! I promise, mommy. Please don't send me away!"

"I won't. It's just nerves, Rachel. It's perfectly natural." She placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "I'm going to get you some water. I'll be right back." Cuddy got up and rounded the corner. A few seconds later, Annabell came over to her.

"You little bitch!" she shouted right in Rachel's face! "I told you not to tell. Now you're going to have to pay." She grabbed Rachel by her shirt collar and shoved her against the wall, causing Rachel to scream. Annabell was about to punch Rachel in the face when a court officer grabbed Annabell and pulled her away. "Let me go!" she screamed as she began to kick and squirm. "Get your filthy hands off of me." The officer ignored her as he dragged her away into another room and shut the door behind them. Rachel just stood there in shock. A few minutes later, Rachel saw Cuddy walking back while talking with Mr. Gray. They stood in the middle of the corridor for about a minute or so while they finished conversing. Upon finishing their discussion Cuddy looked around and ran over to Rachel as soon as she spotted her.

"Rachel! Are you ok?" Rachel nodded. "I just finished talking with the lawyer. He said that Annabell just pleaded guilty to all of the charges. She's being sentenced to 15 days in an adult jail followed by 200 hours of community service and has to attend anger management classes once a week for 12 weeks upon completion of the community service." Rachel just looked up at her. "She's also going to be on probation for two years. If she does even the slightest thing wrong, she's going to a Juvenile Correctional Facility for 2 years. Don't worry, Annabell won't hurt you ever again. Now we just have to take care of Mark." Rachel nodded. "Oh, here's the water I got you" Cuddy said as she handed a little plastic cup that was half full to her. Rachel grabbed it and took a few small sips.

"Mommy," Rachel said as Cuddy looked up. "Can you please stay with me the whole time?" Cuddy nodded.

"Of course!" Cuddy quickly checked her blackberry for any text or voice messages before turning it off. They waited in the hallway for about another 10 minutes before the doors to the courtroom opened and they were permitted to enter. Both Rachel and Cuddy took a seat in the front row right behind their lawyer. Several people began to file into the courtroom including Annabell's mom, Mark and Mark's supposed girlfriend who looked no older than half his age. They all sat together in the front row on the other side. Rachel was just staring at the ground when she recognized a familiar clanking sound. She peered over her shoulder and saw House sitting in the back row. Rachel tapped Cuddy's shoulder.

"Mommy, look behind us in the last row" Rachel whispered, so Cuddy did. Cuddy's eyes widened especially since she had specifically told House not to come to the hearing and work on the medical case instead. "I'll be right back, Rachel" Cuddy said as she got up and walked over to House. The two of them conversed for a couple of minutes before they both walked over and sat on either side of Rachel.

"Thanks for coming, House! It means a lot to have you here" Rachel said with a genuine smile on her face.

"Yeah, whatever" he mumbled.

"Did you hear what happened to Annabell?" Rachel asked House.

"Yeah, Cuddy just filled me in" he said in a very nonchalant tone. Rachel nodded in agreement and then went back to staring at the floor. "Anything interesting down there?" Rachel just gave him a baffled look. "Well, you're staring so intently at the floor that I thought there must be a Mariachi band of ants or something." Rachel just shook her head as she kept staring down, beginning to get lost in her thoughts.

"All rise!" Rachel came to her senses and stood up along with everyone else in the courtroom. "You may now be seated. Case 4051 Rachel Cuddy vs. Mark Stevens for rape in the 2nd degree. Mr. Stevens, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty, your honor!"

"Thank you, please be seated. Would the Prosecution like to give an opening statement?"

"Yes, your honor" Mr. Gray said. He gave what both Rachel and Cuddy felt to be a very compelling speech. This was followed by an opening statement from Mark's attorney. Rachel didn't understand much of what he was saying, but she did hear one part that made her feel uneasy.

"…And how can you trust the words of a child who is clearly mentally unstable? Let it be known that she has purposely overdosed on medication recently, cuts herself on a semi-regular basis and meet the criteria for a diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa. How do we know that this 'rape' wasn't simply a little illusion that she had? We don't even know whether or not the child in question possesses the ability to decipher reality from fiction. My client is clearly being accused of something for which we have no witness and no evidence of. Furthermore, I would like to add…" Rachel glanced up at Cuddy who gave her a reassuring smile. Cuddy placed her hand on top of Rachel's. Rachel glanced over at House who was just glaring at Mark. She sure was glad she wasn't on the receiving end of that ice-cold death stare.

"Would the prosecution like to call anyone to the stand?"

"Yes, your honor" Mr. Gray said. "I'd like to call Rachel Cuddy to the stand." Rachel got up and took a deep breath.

"Good luck!" Cuddy whispered. Rachel gave her a quick smile, made her way to the front of the courtroom and took a seat on the stand. A court officer walked over to her with a Bible.

"Please place your hand on the Bible" which Rachel did. "Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?"

"I do" she said. Mr. Gray proceeded to ask Rachel a series of questions, which she answered to the best of her ability. After about 5 minutes of questioning, Mr. Gray announced that he had no further questions.

"Does the defense have any questions?"

"Yes, your honor" Marks attorney said as he walked over to where Rachel was sitting.

"Rachel is it true that you claim Mark Stevens has raped you on numerous occasions, the first time being April 15 of last year?"

"Yes,"

"Is it also true that you recently tried to hurt yourself on numerous occasions?" Rachel gulped.

"Yes," she nervously answered.

"So, if you hurt yourself, how do we know that you weren't lying about Mark abusing you in an attempt to avoid getting caught for your own self-injurious behaviors?"

"He gave me a STD" Rachel said, trying to hold back tears. "He raped me. I said no and he threatened me with his gun. I hurt myself because I couldn't deal with the pain he caused me and just wanted it all to stop!"

"Do you have any proof of either the numerous rapes or this alleged threat?"

"No, we were alone when it happened" Rachel responded.

"I see! So, in other words, you have no proof and no witnesses what-so-ever. All you have is your word to back you up. Is that right?"

"Yes,"

"No further questions your honor" he said as he took a seat.

"Miss Cuddy, you may now be seated." Rachel got up and sat back down in between Cuddy and House.

"You did great, honey" Cuddy whispered. Rachel looked over at House.

"Oh, it looks like it's the bastards turn now" House whispered to both Rachel and Cuddy. Rachel let out a soft giggle. The prosecution proceeded to question Mark. A couple of minutes later, it was the defenses turn. Mr. Gray got up and walked over to the stand.

"Mr. Stevens is it true that you recently tested positive for syphilis?"

"Yes, it's true"

"And is it also true that it was the same strain that the hospital records show Rachel Cuddy had?"

"Yes," Mr. Gray took some papers out of his briefcase and presented them to the judge who approved of it as viable evidence. Then he showed them to Mark.

"Can you tell the court what this is?"

"Copies of text messages" Mark responded.

"Who are they addressed to?"

"Rachel"

"And who are they from?"

"Me," Mark said. "But someone must have hacked into my phone because with technology nowadays…"

"That wasn't part of the question" Mr. Gray interjected. "I asked who they were from." Mark nodded nervously.

"I just want to share my side of the story"

"Which you will Mr. Stevens if we go to trial" the judge informed him. "Until then, just answer the questions and say nothing more or nothing less. Is that understood?" Mark nodded.

"Yes, your honor."

"Mr. Gray please proceed with your questioning" the judge told him.

"Thank you, your honor. Mr. Stevens, have you been convicted of any crimes?" Mark paused.

"Yes,"

"Can you please tell the court what those crimes were?"

"14 years ago, in Missouri, I was convicted of Sexually Assaulting an 11 year old girl and 19 years ago, in New York, I was convicted of attempted robbery of a liquor store."

"Thank you. No further questions your honor." And with that, Mark was seated. The judge and both lawyers went into the judge's chambers and deliberated for about 15 minutes before they came out. Rachel awaited the verdict with bated breath.

"Thank you all for coming here today" the judge began. "After careful review of this case I have come to the decision that we do have enough evidence to go to trial. The court date will be set for March 10 at 9am. Court dismissed." Rachel looked at both House and her mom. Cuddy couldn't help herself and gave Rachel a bear-tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Jeez, don't embarrass the girl, Cuddy" House jokingly said. "It's not 'cool' for a 12 year old girl to be seen hugging and kissing her mom while out in public."

"I can't help myself" Cuddy said with tears of joy running down her face. "I'm just so happy and relieved!"

"Don't be too relieved" House said. "The bastard hasn't been found guilty yet." Cuddy shot him a look. "Which I'm sure he will be" House quickly added. "Anyway, nice seeing you all, but I have to go back to work now in order to annoy Forman and Wilson. Don't want them to be deprived of my antics for too long. Catch you all later." He got up and was the first one out of the courtroom. Cuddy and Rachel got up a minute later and walked out of the courthouse, heading towards the car when Mark stopped them.

"You little bitch" he told Rachel. "You just wait until I embarrass the hell out of you in court. You'll be sorry that you ever…" At that point Cuddy stepped in.

"You get the hell away from my daughter this instant and stay the hell away from her or else I'll have you arrested for violation of your restraining order."

"Oh, give it a rest, Lisa. We both know that's nothing more than an idle threat."

"You want to try me?" she asked in a completely serious tone. Mark finally caught on to the fact that she wasn't kidding and began to walk away. Then he turned back around and looked Rachel straight in the eye.

"See you on March 10" he sneered before getting into his car and driving off. Rachel looked up at Cuddy.

"I'm scared," Rachel confessed. "What if they don't believe me or they believe Mark more than me?" Cuddy walked with Rachel over to the car and they got in. Then she turned to talk to Rachel.

"Sweetie, they must have believed you more than Mark, otherwise the case would have been dismissed. Think of this trial as more of a formality thing. It's going to be the same as today, only they'll have you share your side of the story and Mark his side."

"What if Mark lies really well and his story is more convincing than mine?"

"Nothing is more convincing than the truth" Cuddy told her as they pulled out of the parking lot and drove home. As soon as they got into their house, Rachel ran down into the basement and let Sophie out of the crate. Rachel was immediately greeted by a very hyper puppy wagging her tail, jumping up on her and giving her lots of licks.

"I love you too, Sophie" Rachel said as she knelt down and petted Sophie. "Guess what, we're going to trial. I really hope I win. I'm scared, though. I feel like I have to be strong for everyone, but I'm worried that at any moment I'm just going to crumble. Then I'll let everyone down. I know you'll be here for me, though, even if I do manage to screw everything up." Sophie licked Rachel in the face. "Thanks, Sophie! You're the best!"

SCENE 2:

The next couple of weeks were pretty much drama free. Rachel and Sophie grew to be inseparable. In addition, Rachel had gotten her weight up to 102 pounds and had completely stopped purging after meals. Also, House came over almost every night of the week, to both Rachel's and Cuddy's liking. Of course, Rachel would always walk out of the room while acting completely disgusted if it even looked like there was a chance that House and her mom would start making-out. They both giggled whenever Rachel got up and squealed as she ran out of the room. "Good, now we have some privacy" House would usually say and, in response, Cuddy would cuddle up closer to him and rest her head on his shoulder. They would sit like that for the remainder of the evening while watching a movie of some sort.

Two days before the trial date, Rachel received a letter from Plainsboro Academy. She brought the letter into her room and opened it, anxious as to what it said. She began to read.

_ Dear Rachel,_

_ I am pleased to inform you that, after _

_ careful review of your application, you _

_ have been accepted into Plainsboro Academy's _

_ honors program. Only 250 out of our _

_ 8,000 students are accepted into this _

_ prestigious program. It is imperative that _

_ you maintain a minimum of a 3.0 gpa _

_ and participate in all weekly meetings and _

_ activities, which are hosted by the Honors Committee. _

_ Meetings are 1hr. long and are held every _

_ Wednesday in room 304 immediately _

_ following school dismissal. Enclosed are_

_ the necessary forms that you and your parent or _

_ guardian must fill out in order to confirm _

_ your acceptance into this program. Forms must_

_ be received no later than March 25 in order to _

_ insure a spot in the program. Congratulations on this _

_ accomplishment and we hope to hear from you soon._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Molly Adams_

_ Head Dean_

Rachel couldn't believe it. She had always considered herself just an average student and here she was being accepted into the honors program at a prestigious private school. She looked over all of the forms that were enclosed. One of them was a scholarship application for $500 per semester which was awarded to one honors student from each grade every year. It would be good for both semesters of the following year. "I'm so applying for this" Rachel said aloud. She walked out of her room and went in search of her mom. After a couple of minutes of searching, she found her in the backyard teaching Sophie how to fetch after sticks. "She's so smart, isn't she?" Rachel acknowledged as she walked outside. Cuddy looked up at her and nodded.

"Yep, she definitely is. She learned how to fetch sticks in only 5 minutes." Cuddy looked down and noticed an open letter in Rachel's hand. "What's that you're holding?"

"A letter with some forms from Plainsboro Academy" Rachel said as she handed everything over to her mom. Cuddy began to read the letter. While reading it, a smile appeared across her face.

"Congratulations, Rachel!" she said upon finishing the letter. "I must say, though, I'm not the least bit surprised. You are a brilliant girl. It's just nice seeing things working in your favor for a change." Rachel nodded.

"Hopefully this stroke of luck keeps up for the trial on Monday."

"Rachel, this isn't luck. You earned it. But I know what you mean" Cuddy said. "I'm going to head in, now." Rachel nodded as she sat down on the ground and called Sophie over. Sophie came running over and jumped into Rachel's lap. "Aw, Sophie, soon you're going to be too big to sit in my lap. German Shepherds get pretty big, you know, and you've already gotten a lot bigger since I first met you." Sophie looked up at her with what seemed to be understanding eyes. She got off of Rachel's lap and lay down next to her. Rachel lightly scratched behind Sophie's ears. Sophie closed her eyes and tilted her head back slightly in order to show Rachel how much she was enjoying this. A few minutes later, Rachel got up and walked back inside with Sophie following close behind.

**SCENE 3:**

It was the morning of the trial and both Rachel and Cuddy were busy getting ready. "Mommy, have you seen my purse? I can't find it" Rachel called out.

"It's on the kitchen table" Cuddy shouted in response as she stood in the bathroom doing her eye make-up.

"Thanks!" Rachel ran into the kitchen and saw it sitting in the middle of the table. "I've found it!" She ran back into her room and brushed her hair. She went over and stood outside of the bathroom. "Hey, mommy, should I keep my hair down or pull it back?"

"Pull it back," Cuddy said. "It looks much more formal that way. Maybe do a bun or a braid?"

"I'll do a messy bun" Rachel said as she went back into her room and did her hair as such. A few minutes later they had both finished getting ready.

"Ready to go?" Cuddy asked.

"Yep, I just have to put Sophie in her crate." Rachel knew the routine. Fill a small bowl up with water, put it in and then put Sophie in. Sophie whimpered as Rachel walked away. "Don't worry, Sophie, I'll be home soon. I promise. Then we'll have all the time in the world to play together." Rachel ran up the stairs and out the front door. Cuddy was already in the car. Rachel hopped in and fastened her seatbelt. She looked up at Cuddy. "I know I keep saying this and you're probably getting tired of hearing it, but I'm really scared. I don't know if I can face Mark again. He scares me, mommy!"

"I know, but you'll do just fine" Cuddy said as she started the engine and backed out of the driveway. "You did it once already and the second time should be easier because you know what to expect. And you're not annoying me. I'd much rather have you talk my ear off with your problems than go off and hurt yourself." Rachel nodded.

"Ok," she said, suddenly feeling a surge of confidence rush through her. "Let's go win this thing!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Scene 1:**

"In the case of Rachel Cuddy versus Mark Stevens, how do you find the defendant?" A woman with short dark hair stood up from the second row of the jurors' bench.

"Your honor, we've been going back and forth for over an hour now and have been unable to come to some sort of an agreement."

"Well, then, I'm afraid I'm going to have to declare a mistrial. Mr. Stevens you are free to go. Case dismissed." Rachel looked up at Cuddy with tears in her eyes.

"You said nothing was more convincing than the truth and I told the truth. Why didn't they believe me?" Cuddy looked over at her daughter, unsure of what to say.

"It's not that they didn't believe you. It's just that they believed Mark too" was all she could think of to say.

"I don't get it. How can they believe both of us when we both said opposite things?" Cuddy sighed.

"I don't know, but sometimes this is what happens." Rachel nodded and Cuddy could tell that she wasn't satisfied by that answer. A moment later, they both got up and walked outside and, just like at the hearing, Mark stopped them right outside the courthouse.

"Told you I'd win, you little slut" he said as he glared down at Rachel. Rachel grabbed Cuddy's hand and held onto it tightly. "You really think anyone would have believed a psycho bitch, such as yourself? You're good for nothing! Go sit in a corner somewhere and kill yourself!"

"How dare you say that to my daughter! This isn't over, Mark" Cuddy sneered. "I will do whatever it takes ensure that your ass is thrown behind bars."

"You're partially right, Lisa. This isn't over" he said with an evil grin.

"Is that a threat?" Cuddy challenged.

"Nope. It's a promise!" And with that, her got into his car and drove off. Rachel looked up at Cuddy

"I'm scared. Mark scares me."

"You have nothing to be afraid of. I am not giving up on this! Now, come on, let's go home." Rachel nodded as she got into the car and they drove off.

"Mommy," Rachel tentatively called out. "Is there really something wrong with me? Am I crazy like Mark said I am?"

"No," Cuddy said. "Of course you're not"

"Then why'd you want me to go to the Psych Ward of the Hospital for an intensive care program?"

"It's not because you're crazy, Rachel" she tried to explain. "It's because you've been through a lot and are emotionally hurt. You need to heal, which you will."

"I still don't see the difference, but ok" Rachel responded in an exacerbated tone.

"You're not crazy. There is nothing wrong with you" Cuddy stressed.

"Ok, fine" was all Rachel said before turning her head the other way in order to stare out the window. About 15 minutes later, they arrived home. Rachel went into the house and let Sophie out of her crate. Sophie came running over to Rachel. "Oh, hey girl! You know, I wish I could be as happy as you" she said as she petted Sophie. "Mark was found innocent. What if he hurts me again?" Sophie nuzzled Rachel and sat down next to her as she looked up into Rachel's eyes. Rachel petted Sophie who reciprocated by licking her in the face a couple of times.

Rachel began to walk upstairs and Sophie followed. She overheard Cuddy saying something, but couldn't see where she was. Rachel sat down on the landing and listened carefully. "The bastard was found innocent, House! I feel so bad for Rachel. She's terrified that he's going to come over here and hurt her. And I don't blame her. Yes, I know we have a dog and an alarm system, but… House! Shut up! Let me finish! Sophie is still a puppy and isn't trained for house protection. As for the alarm, only the doors are alarmed, not the windows. No, House! I'm not cheap nor am I crazy. I did that so we could open the windows during the summer. Fine! You know what? You're right, you're absolutely right. Rachel and I are simply overreacting. It's not like this guy has raped and threatened her before. No, the whole thing is just one big joke" Cuddy said in a sarcastic tone. "Goodbye House!" Rachel finished walking up the stairs with Sophie following her. She saw Cuddy sitting on the living room couch.

"House doesn't believe me either?" Rachel asked. Cuddy looked up, surprised to see her standing there.

"Rachel, how long were you standing there?"

"I just got up here" Rachel answered. "Now, please be honest, does House believe me?"

"Of course, he does. It's just that House just doesn't believe that Mark is going to follow through with any of his threats because, according to him, Mark's too weak and scared to do so."

"What do you think, mommy?" Rachel asked, sitting down next to her. "Do you think he's going to try and hurt me again?"

"I don't know" Cuddy said. "I wish I had a better answer for you, but I don't. I'm sorry!"

**Scene 2:**

Two months later, Rachel was lying awake in bed. She had been having trouble sleeping ever since Mark was found innocent. Rachel had both her windows shut and locked, as Cuddy did with the windows in the rest of the house. Cuddy had listened to House's advice and upgraded her alarm system to include the windows too; she hoped that this would make Rachel feel safer, even though she doubted that Mark would try anything. Sophie was sleeping on the floor right next to Rachel when all of a sudden she sat up and began to bark. Rachel popped up. "Sophie! What is it, girl?" Sophie ran out of Rachel's room and down into the basement barking. Rachel walked out of the hallway and saw Cuddy's bedroom door open.

"What's going on?" Cuddy asked in a groggy voice.

"I don't know. Sophie just started barking and…"

"Son of a bitch!" they heard a man's voice shout. "Get your fucking teeth off of me, you stupid dog!"

"Rachel, come in here!" Cuddy ordered as she ushered Rachel into her bedroom. She promptly shut and locked the door behind them and then proceeded to call 911. After Cuddy called, Rachel climbed into Cuddy's bed.

"Mommy, I'm scared" Rachel whispered as she cuddled into Cuddy's warm embrace.

"Shh! It's going to be fine" Cuddy whispered back as she held Rachel close to her. Suddenly they heard a loud bang followed by a yelp. It sounded like Sophie. Rachel got up and went towards the door, but Cuddy pulled her back. "Rachel, Sophie can take care of herself. I don't want you to get hurt." Rachel reluctantly got back into Cuddy's bed and curled up into a tight ball. "It's ok, sweetie" Cuddy whispered as she rubbed Rachel's back in light circular motions. "I won't let anything happen to you." A minute later they heard sirens followed by the sound of pounding on the door.

"Mark Stevens, you're under arrest, please come out with your hands up. We have the house surrounded!" Rachel stared out of Cuddy's bedroom window as she saw a Mark walk outside and be put in hand-cuffs. Rachel immediately unlocked Cuddy's door and went in search of Sophie.

"Sophie, come here, girl!" Rachel called out. There was no response. "Sophie!" Rachel ran down the stairs in the basement. Suddenly Cuddy heard a blood-curdling scream. Cuddy got up and immediately ran downstairs. Sophie was lying on the floor in the middle of a pool of blood. Mark had shot her right in the head. Rachel cried, knowing that Sophie had given up her life in order to protect her. "Sophie, wake up! Please wake up!" Rachel begged as she tried to nudge Sophie. There was no response. She looked up at Cuddy with tears in her eyes. "Mommy, is she going to be ok?" Cuddy walked over and knelt beside Sophie. She couldn't detect any breathing or a pulse. Cuddy looked up at Rachel with sad eyes.

"I am so sorry" Cuddy said chocking on her words. "Mark shot her. I think she's dead!" Rachel suddenly felt nauseous.

"I loved her. She was my best friend!" Cuddy nodded as she gave Rachel a quick hug and guided her towards the stairs.

"Why don't you go back upstairs and try to sleep while I make some phone calls?" Rachel nodded and went back to bed, but she couldn't get back to sleep. Not after all this! Every time Rachel tried to close her eyes, she saw the image of Sophie lying there in her own blood. Rachel should have gone down in the basement with her. Maybe then she'd still be alive. It was all her fault that Sophie was dead. Had she not been so selfish and only looking out for herself, then Sophie would still be alive.

Rachel woke up screaming and crying. Cuddy came running in to her bedroom a few seconds later. "Sweetie, shh, it's ok" she said, sitting on the edge of Rachel's bed.

"No, it's not ok" Rachel said. "I should have gone down in the basement with Sophie and protected her."

"Then it might have been you who died. Sophie was able to fight Mark long enough for the police to arrive" Cuddy explained. "She died a hero. And I know it hurts and you'll never be able to forget this, but try to remember the good times the two of you had together." She placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder.

"I guess," Rachel muttered. "But now I have nobody. Nobody to love me and protect me!" A tear fell down her cheek. She laid her head back down on her pillow.

"I love you and I'll protect you no matter what and I'm sure House would do the same." Rachel nodded.

"I guess you're right and I really do appreciate it, but it's not the same. You know?"

"Yes, I know" she agreed much to Rachel's surprise. "Rachel, can I tell you a story?" Rachel nodded as she sat up. "You probably don't know this, but I was actually born a twin. My sister's name was Laura. We were attached at the hip growing up. We did everything together and were practically best friends." Rachel was shocked that she had never heard of Cuddy's twin sister before. She just thought that her mom had one older sister; Julia.

"I didn't know I had an Aunt Laura!"

"You don't" Cuddy said choking on her words. "It was our sixteenth birthday and we had both just gotten our drivers licenses. Our friends were throwing a party for us that night and it was the first time we were allowed to drive on our own, so naturally we were both very excited. On the way there, a drunk driver coming from the opposite direction swerved into our lane and hit us head-on. I had a couple of broken bones and a mild concussion, but Laura died right then and there." Rachel's mouth dropped open. She felt so bad for her mom at that moment. "I blamed myself for a while and wished that I was the one who had been driving; that it would have been me who died instead of her since she was such a beautiful girl who had so much to live for." Cuddy wiped a couple of tears away. "You would have really liked her, Rachel. In fact, you two remind me a lot of one another." Rachel tried to smile.

"So how'd you get over it all?"

"Honestly, I don't think I ever did fully get over it. I still think about her every day. But I've accepted the fact that she's dead and there's nothing I can do to change that. I'm alive and Laura wouldn't want me wasting my life wishing for something that can never be. She would want me to go live life to its fullest and cherish every moment that I am alive because life is something that you can't take for granted." Rachel nodded.

"So, what you're saying is that I can still be sad about Sophie and miss her, but I can't go back in time and make her alive again? Instead, I should just appreciate the fact that I'm still alive?" Cuddy nodded.

"Exactly,"

"I don't think I can do that" Rachel said.

"It's going to be tough, but you can do it" she assured Rachel.

"I hope you're right." They sat in silence for a moment before Cuddy spoke again.

"Do you want me to stay or leave?"

"Can you stay?" Rachel asked. "I'm too scared to fall back asleep alone."

"Of course," Cuddy said. Rachel laid her head on Cuddy's lap and Cuddy began to lightly stroke her face. She held Rachel in her arms until she was sure that Rachel was fast asleep. Cuddy then gently laid Rachel's head back down on her pillow and covered her with her bed sheets. Rachel stirred a little bit, but didn't wake up. Cuddy kissed Rachel on the top of the head and walked out of her bedroom, slowly shutting the door behind her.

A few hours later, Rachel woke up and looked at the clock next to her. It was 10:30 am. This was late for Rachel to be just getting up as Cuddy usually woke her if she wasn't up by 10, but Rachel figured that, after the preceding night's events, her mom was going to let her sleep in. Rachel got up, brushed her hair and went to the kitchen. Cuddy was sitting there with a cup of coffee in her hand while reading over some papers. Rachel walked in, took a seat across the table from her and just stared down at the floor. It took a minute before Cuddy realized that Rachel was there. "Morning, sweetie" she greeted.

"Morning," Rachel said. "So…" she started to say. "So, what's going to happen to Sophie?" Cuddy looked up and took a deep breath before answering her question.

"The police came by a couple of hours ago and they took Sophie to a vet who's going to make sure she is indeed dead and then they're going to bury her in the pet cemetery."

"So, there's a chance that she's still alive and can come back home?" Rachel asked full of hope. Cuddy nodded.

"But I don't want you to get your hopes up. The vet said that the chances of this happening are 1 in 1,000. And even if by some miracle she's still alive, she'll most likely have permanent damage and will have to be put down anyway. That means given a shot to stop her heart" Cuddy said noticing Rachel's bewildered expression. Rachel nodded and then got up in order to take a shower. She walked into her room and gathered her clothes.

Rachel never believed in God as Cuddy had always told her that there is a scientific explanation for every phenomenon, even if we don't know what that explanation is yet. Still, what Rachel needed more than anything else in the world was hope. For the first time in her life, Rachel knelt down beside her bed and began to pray. She prayed that Sophie would be alive and well enough to come back home. She prayed that Mark would get the karma he deserved. Though, most of all, she prayed that everything would work out for Cuddy. Rachel had dragged her mom through hell and back and, even so, she was still being strong for her. Rachel wondered who was being strong for her mom. Who was there to support her whenever she broke down? Who was there when she needed someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on? Then it hit her; House! Rachel ended her prayer in wishing Cuddy and House a long and happy marriage. "Amen," Rachel whispered. She wasn't sure if the prayer would work but, at this point, she was willing to try just about anything.

After Rachel got out of the shower, she went back into her room and began to write in her journal. While she was writing, there was a knock at her door. "Come in!" Rachel called out. Cuddy opened the door and walked in, sitting down next to Rachel.

"Rachel," she said with a smile across her face. "I just received a call from the vet. Sophie was in a coma, but she's out of it now. The bullet also didn't hit her brain or any important blood vessels. Also, they were able to remove all of the bullet fragments. She's going to be ok, Rachel. She's going to be ok!" Rachel smiled and gave Cuddy a hug. Then she pulled away and looked up at Cuddy with wide eyes.

"Mommy, if I tell you something, do you promise you won't think I'm crazy?" Cuddy nodded.

"Of course not!"

"Okay, well, right after I talked with you this morning, I prayed that Sophie would be alive and well enough to come back home. You said that the odds were against her, but she still pulled through. She was that 1 in a thousand! I wonder if maybe there is a God up there looking after all of us and they heard my prayer and saved Sophie." Cuddy nodded.

"Maybe," she said. "You never know." This was the first time Rachel heard any kind of skepticism what-so-ever in her mom's voice while talking about religion.

"Is Sophie well enough to come home?" Rachel asked.

"They need to keep her for a few days in order to make sure she's stable and didn't attain any other injuries, but the vet said she should be well enough to come home by the end of the week."

"Oh my God! I can't believe it!" Rachel squealed. "Thank you" Rachel said as she looked up. "Thank you for saving my best friend!" Cuddy placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder.

"I'm not going to make any promises, but I think that Mark is going to be found guilty and put in jail for a VERY long time." Rachel smiled.

"I hope you're right."

**SCENE 3:**

It was late in May when Cuddy received the phone call. Mark Stevens had pleaded guilty to all of the charges, including the multiple rape charges and was being sentenced to 20 years in prison. Cuddy couldn't wait until Rachel got back from taking Sophie on a walk so she could give her the good news. A few minutes later, the front door swung open. Sophie went up the stairs and began drinking furiously out of her water bowl. "How was the walk?" Cuddy called out.

"Good," Rachel responded as she walked up the stairs and headed into the living room. "We were able to go a little further than we did yesterday, but then she started limping over by the Johnson's house so we rested on the sidewalk for a few minutes before coming back here."

"Well, the vet did say that it might take up to a year before she can walk and run like normal again. Still, you guys walked almost a mile today. That's definitely progress."

"I know" Rachel said. "I'm just happy that she's still here with us!" Cuddy smiled.

"I have some good news, Rachel!" Rachel stopped what she was doing and sat down next to Cuddy. "The lawyer just called and said Mark pleaded guilty to everything and is being sentenced to 20 years in jail!"

"Oh my God! That's great!" Rachel exclaimed. Cuddy nodded. Then her expression turned completely serious.

"You do understand that now since this is all over, I'm going to have to return to work, right? That means you're going to have to take care of Sophie on your own more." Rachel nodded.

"It's worth it. Sophie's such a good friend to me!" Cuddy smiled.

"Speaking of friends, how's it going at Plainsboro Academy? Have you made any new friends there?" Rachel had been going there for almost 2 months now and was excelling in their honors program.

"It's good and I sit with a few people at lunch. I wouldn't exactly call them friends, but they're people to talk to at least."

"That's good" Cuddy responded. "Is anyone there giving you any kind of trouble?" Rachel shook her head.

"No, in fact, a couple of weeks ago these two guys had to stay after school for a week and clean the whole cafeteria because they shoved some girl into a wall and called her a slut during lunch. That's been the only incident since I've started going there. At Plainsboro North, there was probably close to 5 of those kinds of incidents daily and the teachers didn't really do anything about it."

"And that's why you're not going there anymore" Cuddy said. "I knew from the beginning that this school was the best fit for you. Anyway, I'm glad to hear everything is going well." Rachel smiled.

"Are you still going to be working on weekends?"

"I'm scheduled to be on call every other Saturday but, other than that, I should be home on the weekends." Rachel seemed very happy by that answer.

"Good, at least you can spend time with me on the weekends then." Cuddy nodded. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, House has a surprise for you. He said to meet him where you guys had your first date in college at 7 tonight. I have no idea where that is or what it's for, but he told me to tell you that. Also, he said to wear something nice." Cuddy raised an eyebrow. "Well, his exact words were 'wear something sexy and revealing', but you get the idea." Cuddy smiled as she sat there trying to remember where that date was. After a couple of minutes it came to her. Mel's Diner on Main Street.

**SCENE 4:**

House sat at a table in the far back corner of the diner, waiting for Cuddy to arrive. A couple of minutes later she walked in and the hostess showed her where House was seated. Cuddy was wearing a simple spaghetti strap black dress with matching stilettos. Her hair was down and in tight curls that bounced off of her shoulders. Meanwhile, House was wearing a black 'Ted Nugent' t-shirt, grass-stained jeans, black sneakers with a hole on the bottom and his hair was an absolute mess. "Wow, this is a first, House. You arriving somewhere before me" Cuddy pointed out. House nodded as he got up and pulled out a chair for her. "Thank you" she said as she sat down and picked up the menu. A minute later their waiter came over.

"Welcome to Mel's Diner. My name is Matthew and I'm going to be serving you tonight. Can I get you both something to drink while you look over the menu?"

"I'll have a glass of Cabernet" Cuddy said. House ordered a beer. Following this, they both went back to looking at their menus. House decided on a 12 oz Rib-eye Steak with a side of Garlic Mashed Potatoes while Cuddy decided on Grilled Salmon with a side of steamed Broccoli. After they placed their orders, Cuddy looked up at House and decided to get straight to the point. "So, House, Rachel says that you have a surprise for me? I can't imagine what it could possibly be since you've already popped the question." House looked up at her. He contemplated whether to tell her now or wait until the end of the meal. Knowing that Cuddy would get suspicious and start asking questions if he decided to wait, House decided to just reveal the surprise right then and there.

"Look, Cuddy, I know you don't like to accept help because of your pride or whatever your reason may be. But just accept help from me this once, ok? You know me, Cuddy; it's very rare that I go out of my way to do a good deed unless it benefits me somehow. And trust me when I say that this particular act of kindness doesn't benefit me in anyway. So you might as well take advantage of this while you can." Although Cuddy agreed with his statement, she couldn't help but feel suspicious about the whole thing; suspecting that there was some sort of catch to whatever he was about to say.

"What exactly are you referring to, House?" Cuddy asked as she began to eye him suspiciously. He took an envelope out of his over-sized coat pocket and gave it to Cuddy. She opened it and saw a check for $5,000. Cuddy looked up at House with a look of utter shock.

"It's for Rachel's tuition next year" House explained. "She seems to be doing a lot better since she transferred to Plainsboro Academy and this way you don't have to worry about screwing up and having to pull her out of there in order to send her back to that hellhole they call a school."

"Oh my gosh, House. I don't know what to say!"

"How about you say that after dinner, you and I go to your place and…"

"No!" Cuddy said. "I'm not doing that while Rachel's home. We can go to your place" she offered.

"Wilson's home. He's in some sort of deep depression after his latest girlfriend broke up with him and refuses to come out of his room. Of course, I don't mind couch sex if you don't mind a possible audience!" Cuddy noticed that a few people from other tables were staring at them.

"House, enough!" Cuddy whispered. "I do not want to draw attention to our sex life."

"But it's so interesting that I want the whole wide world to know about it" House whined.

"I don't care what you want and I'm not coming over to have Wilson walk in on us." House shrugged his shoulders.

"Hotel room?" Cuddy thought for a minute.

"What about Rachel? I don't want to leave her home alone overnight."

"Please, Mark the bastard is in jail and the little twit they like to call Annabell isn't going to do a thing. Plus you guys have an alarm system and a personal body guard known as Sophie. Relax! She'll be fine."

"I guess," Cuddy said. "Let me just quick call her and see if she's ok with spending the night alone." Cuddy got up and walked outside in order to call Rachel. A couple of minutes later, she returned back to the table. "Rachel said she's fine with it. Make sure you have protection with you" Cuddy whispered. "We don't need any little Gregory House's running around." House smirked.

"You don't? But who wouldn't want to procreate with me? I've got stellar genes." Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Fine, we'll stop by the drugstore on the way to the hotel. Ok?" Cuddy nodded.

"Sounds good" she responded.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Scene one and two take place during the same time, but scene one is from Cuddy's point-of-view while scene two is from Rachel's point-of-view. Both will be written in the 3rd person for the sake of consistency.

**SCENE 1:**

Once Cuddy and House had both settled down in the hotel room, they sat on the King sized bed and gazed into each other's eyes. House pushed a strand of hair behind Cuddy's ear. She smiled and leaned in giving him a delicate kiss on the cheek. He took his hand and lightly stroked the side of her face before planting a series of kisses on her neck. Cuddy rapped her arms around House's neck and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips. He responded by giving her some tongue which she proceeded to suck on as she continued to kiss him. House pushed Cuddy back on the bed and began to unzip her dress. She grabbed hold of his shirt as she sucked on his bottom lip and began to nibble on it lightly. Once her dress was completely off, House kissed her neck, slowly moving down her shoulder and side until he reached her abdomen where he settled; licking it in circular motions in between kisses. He heard Cuddy let out a soft moan. "More" she whispered. "Give me more!" He was about to pull down her black laced panties when Cuddy's cellphone began to vibrate. She immediately popped up.

"Let it ring" House said, pushing her back down again.

"What if it's Rachel?" Cuddy pointed out. "I told you on the way here that I didn't feel all that comfortable leaving her home alone!"

"Relax, Cuddy. She'll be fine!" House assured her. "Now let's get back to business."

"I don't know,"

"Look if it's anything important, whoever is calling will leave a message, ok?" Cuddy wasn't completely reassured but she continued making love with her fiancée. The phone finally stopped vibrating only to begin again a few seconds later.

"Oh for God's sake," Cuddy moaned while getting out from underneath House and sitting up. "I'm sorry, House. I'll be right back" she said as she stood up and walked over to get her phone. Cuddy opened it up to see two missed calls from Rachel and a text. She opened the text.

_Mommy, something bad happened and_

_I'm scared. Please come home NOW!_

_Please! I'm really scared._

Cuddy took out her phone and texted Rachel.

_I'm on my way, but can you please_

_tell me what happened?_

Rachel didn't respond, which caused Cuddy to grow even more worried than she already was. "House, I have to go back home to Rachel. Something bad happened."

"What is it?" he asked as he sat back up and handed Cuddy her dress back, which she quickly put back on.

"I don't know" Cuddy answered truthfully. "But she asked me to come home right now."

"Is somebody perhaps suffering from a little bit of separation anxiety?" House asked in a mocking tone.

"House, shut up!" Cuddy shot back. "Rachel's been through a lot and I need to be there for her. I knew it was a stupid idea to leave her home alone just so you and I could get some action tonight. Now you can either come with me or you can stay here all by yourself!"

"I'm not paying for a hotel room so it can sit here empty." Cuddy shot him a look. "What? I thought you said it was up to me!"

"It is" she sneered. "I'll call you and let you know how everything went. That is if you decide to pick up your phone." House ignored her as he lay down on the bed and turned the TV on. "Goodnight, House!" she called out as she forcefully shut the door behind her.

**SCENE 2:**

Rachel was sitting on her bed, flipping through a magazine, when she received a call from Cuddy. "Hello," Rachel answered.

"Sweetie, hi! It's mommy. Listen, House has invited me to spend the night with him. Are you ok with being home by yourself?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Rachel, don't just say this because it's what you think I want to hear. If you don't feel comfortable spending the night alone, I have no problem coming home right now."

"No, really, it's fine! It'll actually be kind of cool having the house to myself for the night. Hey, you know what's funny? I'll have one house to myself and you'll have the other one to yourself." Cuddy let out a slight chuckle.

"Alright then! I'll see you tomorrow morning. Don't forget to set the alarm and make sure all the doors and windows are both shut and locked!" Cuddy reminded her.

"I won't"

"And no throwing a party because I will find out if you do!" Cuddy said half-jokingly.

"Ok, I won't" Rachel sighed. "It'll be a calm and boring evening here."

"Good. I love you, Rachel!"

"I love you too, mommy!"

"Bye, now" Cuddy said as she hung up. Rachel went into the living room and turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels, not seeing anything good on. Bored out of her mind, Rachel got up and grabbed her phone. There was a text from this girl Samantha that she met at Plainsboro Academy.

_Heyy Rach! What's up?_

Rachel texted her back saying that she had the house to herself for the night and asked if Samantha wanted to come over for a couple of hours. Samantha lived two blocks away, so it was only a five minute walk. Also, they lived in a very safe neighborhood, meaning that there was no concern about walking outside alone at night. Samantha texted her back.

_Sounds great! I'll be over _

_in a few. _

Rachel closed her phone and went back to reading her magazine. She heard the doorbell ring a few minutes later and ran over to the door opening it up. "Hey, what's up?" Rachel motioned for Samantha to come in.

"Not much" Samantha said as she followed cue and walked right in. Rachel shut and locked the door behind her. "You?"

"I'm going to make myself a sandwich for dinner. Do you want one?"

"Sure, what kind?"

"Peanut butter and Nutella. Nothing exciting, I know."

"I've actually never had Peanut Butter before" Samantha confessed as the duo walked up the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Seriously?" Rachel blurted out. "Man have you been missing out. I put peanut butter on just about everything. My mom thinks it's weird that I like to put peanut butter on pretzels, but it's just so good." Samantha giggled. "Anyway, do you want me to make you one?" Samantha nodded.

"Sure!"

"Ok, go into the living room and pick out a DVD. I'll be there in a sec."

"Ok," Samantha said as she walked out of the kitchen. Rachel made 2 sandwiches, grabbed two water bottles and went into the living room. She put the sandwiches down on the table that was right in front of the couch and then saw that Samantha had picked out 'The Princess Diaries' to watch. Rachel got up, put the DVD in and then they both sat down enjoying their night of dinner and the movie. Five minutes into the movie, Samantha got a look of terror on her face, but Rachel was so engrossed in the movie that she didn't even notice.

"Rachel!" Samantha practically screamed. Rachel jumped and then turned to look at Samantha. Her face looked all red and swollen. "Rachel, I don't feel so good."

"Hold on a sec. I'm going to call my mom. She used to be a doctor so she'll know what to do!" Rachel got up and called Cuddy's cellphone twice, but both times it went to voicemail. She then sent her mom a text and went to check on Samantha. Her whole face looked like a balloon and she it looked like she was having trouble breathing. Rachel's cellphone had vibrated and she saw that Cuddy was on her way home. It was at that moment when Samantha lost consciousness.

**SCENE 3:**

Cuddy arrived home about 15 minutes later. "Rachel!" she called out as she ran through the front door. "Rachel where are you?"

"In the living room. Hurry up!" Cuddy ran up the stairs and saw Rachel hovering over the body of an unconscious young girl.

"Rachel, who is this and what happened to her?"

"She's my new friend, Samantha. I invited her over to watch a movie with me and we both had Peanut Butter and Nutella sandwiches for dinner. We were both laughing about how she had never had Peanut Butter before and…"

"She's never had it?" Cuddy asked. Rachel shook her head. "Did she develop these symptoms after eating the sandwich?" Rachel nodded.

"Like within a couple minutes after finishing her face got really red and swollen and she couldn't breathe right."

"I think she's allergic to peanuts" Cuddy said. "Get into the car. We're going to the hospital."

"I'm so sorry" Rachel said as she gathered her things. "I didn't mean to hurt her. It's just that I didn't know. This is my entire fault!"

"No, it's not your fault! There's no way you could've known" Cuddy stated as she picked up Samantha. "Rachel open the door for me!" So Rachel did. They got into the car and arrived at the hospital a short time later. Cuddy carried the unconscious girl into the ER. Cameron saw the three of them come in and immediately ran over.

"What happened, Lisa?" she asked in a concerned tone. "Most people don't come to the ER in a little black dress and matching stilettos." Cuddy ignored that last comment.

"She developed a severe allergic reaction after eating Peanut Butter" Cuddy explained. Cameron took Samantha from Cuddy's arms and placed her onto a bed. Then Cameron stuck an IV in her arm and began to administer a medication of some sort. A couple of minutes later, Samantha's face became a lot less swollen and a few minutes after that she finally woke up. Samantha immediately saw Rachel and Cuddy standing by her bedside.

"What happened?" Samantha asked as she slowly sat up.

"You're in the hospital" Cuddy explained. "You have a severe peanut allergy. I've already called your mom and she's on her way." Samantha nodded.

"Am I going to be able to go home soon Mrs. Cuddy?" Cuddy walked over to the side of the bed and placed her hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"We have to wait until your allergy levels are back to normal before you can be released. At the very most, you'll have to stay overnight, but I think you should be okay to leave in a couple of hours or so." Samantha smiled at that. "However, because you do have such a severe allergy, you're going to need to carry an Epi-Pen with you everywhere. The second you start experiencing symptoms like you did tonight, you need to inject that into your stomach. The nurse will give you one and show you how to use it in a few minutes."

"Ok," Samantha said. "Thanks for saving my life, both of you." Rachel smiled.

"It was nothing," Cuddy said. "I'm just glad to see you're doing better."

"So much for a calm and boring night, huh?" Rachel joked.

"Let's hope next time isn't quite as exciting" Cuddy said. Both Rachel and Samantha nodded in agreement. "So how do you two know each other?"

"We're both in the honors program" Rachel explained. "We also have math and English class together." Cuddy smiled. She was so happy that Rachel had finally found a friend, one who seemed decent for once. "She's been trying to get me to join the school newspaper" Rachel continued "But, as I keep telling her, I have no writing talent what-so-ever."

"Nuh-uh" Samantha argued. "The essay you wrote for English class last week was really good. I think you made a really good argument." Rachel smiled.

"Thanks! Glad you liked it. That means a lot to me."

"Well, I…" Samantha started to say when she was interrupted by a woman throwing the curtains aside and running to the foot of her bed. "Mommy!" Samantha squealed.

"Are you ok?" she asked. "What happened?"

"I ate peanut butter" she explained. "Apparently I'm allergic to it. But the doctor gave me some medicine and I'm ok now."

"Thank God!" She then looked over and noticed Rachel and Cuddy standing there. "Samantha, who are these people?"

"This is my new friend, Rachel and this is her mom, Mrs. Cuddy. She was the one who drove me here." Samantha's mom walked over to Cuddy. "Hello, I'm Anne Scott. Thank you so much for helping my daughter!" Cuddy smiled and shook Anne's hand.

"Of course," Cuddy responded. "No need to thank me." Anne then turned her attention to Rachel.

"So you go to school with Samantha?" Rachel nodded.

"We have two classes together and are both in the honors program."

"That's nice" Anne said. She turned back towards Cuddy. "Any idea as to when she'll be well enough to be released?"

"I'm going to check with her doctor now, but most likely ether later tonight or tomorrow morning." Cuddy told her. Anne nodded as Cuddy walked out and closed the curtain behind her. A few minutes later, Cuddy returned. "The doctor just needs to get one more blood sample and run a couple of tests to make sure everything has returned to normal" she told both Samantha and Anne. "They should be here within 15 minutes to take it and you should have the results about an hour after that. If all goes well, you should be out of here in about 2 hours."

"Oh, I hope everything ends up coming back normal" Samantha said. "I just want to go home."

"I don't blame you" Rachel told her. "I was in the hospital three times in one month and it sucked ass!"

"Rachel, language" Cuddy chided.

"Sorry, mom" Rachel groaned. "It wasn't fun" she said to Samantha. "Is that better?" Rachel asked curtly as she turned towards Cuddy.

"Yes, Rachel, and I don't appreciate the attitude."

"Sorry," Rachel said once more. She turned back towards Samantha. "So, yeah, I was in the hospital three times and had to stay overnight 2 out of the 3 times. The first time I had a really bad infection. The second time I took too much medicine and needed to get my stomach pumped and the third time I got hurt and needed a cast and stitches. It's a long story" Rachel told her.

"You want to tell me about it?" Samantha asked.

"I don't know. It's kind of intense. And it's kind of hard for me to talk about."

"No, I get it" Samantha said. "My brother died of cancer 3 years ago and it was really hard for me to talk about it. I really didn't tell anyone outside of my family for like 6 months. It's fine. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I'm sorry about your brother." Rachel ran over and gave Samantha a hug.

"It's fine" Samantha said as she let go. Rachel looked up at both Cuddy and Anne.

"I think we should give them some space" Cuddy whispered. Anne agreed and they both left. Once Rachel was sure they were gone, she told Samantha her harrowing tale. Samantha listened and didn't seem shocked or disturbed by anything Rachel was telling her. Finally, when Rachel was finished, she looked over at Samantha apprehensively.

"I'm really sorry," Samantha finally said. "I'm glad that the guy's in jail and that your dog's ok. The thing is, I know you said that Annabell got in trouble, but what happened to the other three girls?"

"They're all on 6 months' probation" Rachel told her.

"That's it?" Samantha exclaimed. "That won't stop them from doing something like this again!"

"That's why I transferred schools" Rachel said. "I know everyone at our school is wondering why I transferred during the middle of the semester. I've been getting non-stop questions on the topic."

"So, what do you tell them when they ask?"

"Just that I recently moved here from another part of Jersey."

"Oh, ok. But aren't you scared they might find out the truth. I mean, I won't tell anyone, but someone else might."

"Not really" Rachel said. "None of those girls knows anyone at our school. So I don't see how they'd find out." Samantha nodded.

"And if they do, you can always say it's a made-up rumor or something like that."

"I guess," Rachel agreed. "So do you still want to hang out with me after hearing all that? You don't think I'm weird or disturbing at all, do you?"

"Rachel, it wasn't your fault. Ok, maybe cutting yourself taking too much medicine was but, other than that, you had no control. I'm not going to stop being your friend because of that. But if you want to be my friend, then you have to promise me that you won't hurt yourself anymore" Samantha told her.

"I'll try my best" Rachel promised.

"Are you going to counseling?" Samantha asked. Rachel nodded. "Is it helping?"

"Not really" Rachel confessed. "I mean she's nice and all, but she doesn't really say or do anything helpful. She just makes me talk the whole time and is like 'Why do you think you feel this way?' and 'What do you think we should do about it?' and when I tell her I don't know, she tells me to come up with an answer for our next session."

"Maybe you should tell your mom" Samantha suggested.

"I don't know. I just don't want to be difficult in saying that I want her to go through the work involved with finding me another therapist" Rachel explained.

"You're being difficult if you keep having her spend money on something that you know isn't helping."

"True," Rachel said. "I'll tell her tonight. Anyway, thanks for being such an awesome friend!" Samantha smiled.

"After you saving my life I should be acting like an awesome friend." They both giggled. At that moment, a nurse walked in and took a blood sample from Samantha.

"We'll have the results in a little while" she said.

"Okay thanks!" Samantha responded. The nurse nodded and left the room. "Are we done talking?" Samantha asked. Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess. I can't think of anything else to say? Can you?" Samantha shook her head. "I'll go get our mom's" Rachel offered. She opened the curtain and looked around until she spotted both moms sitting on a bench a little bit down the hallway. Rachel heard them talking and laughing about something, but she didn't know what. When the two of them saw Rachel walking over, they both looked up and smiled.

"Everything ok?" Cuddy asked.

"Yep, I just wanted to let you know that we're done talking so you guys can come back in if you want."

"Thanks for letting us know" Anne said.

"Oh, and the nurse took some blood from Samantha to check for the allergy stuff again." Anne nodded.

"Why don't you go back over to Samantha? We'll be there in a minute" Cuddy told her.

"Ok!" Rachel said as she turned around and walked back over there.

"Rachel seems like a really sweet girl" Anne commented. Cuddy smiled.

"Thank you!"

"Is she ok, though? Samantha said that she sits by herself a lot at school and doesn't talk much. I mean, she sits next to Samantha in class and eats lunch with her and a couple of other girls. But I just wanted to make sure that everything's ok."

"Thank you for your concern" Cuddy said. "I'm not surprised that she's been a little withdrawn since she's been through a lot lately. But I'll talk to her about it tonight and keep an eye on her. Thank you for telling me, though." Anne nodded. "I think we should go back now. The girls are probably wondering what's taking us so long." Samantha's mom agreed. They both got up and walked over to where the girls were.

"No way! Buffy is so much better than Twilight" they heard Samantha say.

"But Twilight has Jacob. Who does Buffy have?"

"Xander" Samantha countered.

"I still think Jacob is way hotter than Xander."

"Hi, girls" Samantha's mom said. They both looked up. "Is everything ok?" They both nodded.

"We're just trying to figure out which is better, Buffy or Twilight" Rachel explained.

"I don't know much about either of those things" Samantha's mom confessed.

"I do," Cuddy interjected. "Rachel forces me to sit down and watch both of them with her.

"So which one do you think is better, Mrs. Cuddy?" Samantha asked. Cuddy chuckled.

"Honestly, I can't stand either one!"

"She hates Justin Bieber, too" Rachel stated. "She thought he was a girl!" Both girls laughed at that one.

"Oh my God, seriously?" Samantha asked. "That's worse than my mom!"

"I'm standing right here, girls!" Cuddy announced. Rachel and Samantha both looked at each other and laughed once more.

"If this is what they say with us standing right here, than I don't even want to know what they say about us when we're not around" Anne told Cuddy who nodded in agreement. A few minutes later the ER doctor came back in saying that everything looked normal. He then showed Samantha how to use the Epi pen in case there was another incident and explained to both her and her mom that she would have to come to the hospital anyway, but that this should help reduce the reaction for long enough for them to have time to get to one. He then told Samantha's mom to update any medical and school records, which Samantha's mom promised that she would.

"Are you ok if I take Rachel home now?" Cuddy asked Samantha's mom.

"Of course. I'm just going to be signing Samantha out and giving them insurance information. Thanks for getting her here." Cuddy nodded.

"Bye, Samantha. See you in school on Monday!" Rachel called out. Samantha said goodbye as Cuddy and Rachel left.

"I'm going to call House and let him know what happened" Cuddy told Rachel. "Why don't you sit down on that bench while I give him a call?" Rachel nodded and did as she was told.

**SCENE 4:**

House was lying on the bed watching some Sci-fi movie in an attempt to distract himself from Cuddy and Rachel. He was failing miserably, though. What was wrong with Rachel? Did Annabell come back and try to hurt her? Did Rachel try to hurt herself again? Endless possibilities rushed through House's mind and nothing he did seemed to put it at ease. House glanced down at the clock. It had been 2 hours already and he still hadn't received a call for Cuddy. House debated whether or not he should go to Cuddy's place to make sure everything was ok. After going back and forth for 15 minutes, he finally decided to stay put, figuring that Cuddy would call him if she needed his help. House hopped into the shower, hoping the warm water would help relax him, but to no avail. In an irritable mood, House got out of the shower, got dressed and plopped himself back down onto the bed. He was staring into space when his cellphone rang.

"House's house of Mischief" he answered.

"Hey, House, it's me" Cuddy said.

"Cuddy, what the hell happened? Is Rachel ok?"

"Yeah, she's fine" Cuddy told him.

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the ER. Rachel and I…"

"Well, she's obviously not fine if you had to bring her to the hospital. I'll ask you again. What the hell happened?"

"I was about to tell you that before you so rudely interrupted me" Cuddy shot back. "Anyway, Rachel had a friend from school over. She made both of them Peanut Butter and Nutella sandwiches for dinner, but neither knew that this friend had a severe peanut allergy. Rachel called me because the girl's face was swelling up and she didn't know what to do."

"Is this other girl ok?"

"Yes," Cuddy nodded. "We got her here in time and got her stabilized. Her allergy levels are back to normal and her mom is currently signing her out."

"Good," House said. "So are you coming back here?"

"I can't leave Rachel home alone after what just happened" Cuddy told him, much to his dismay. "I understand if you want to stay there since you're paying for a full night anyway, but I won't be joining you. I just wanted to call and let you know that everything is ok."

"Ok," House muttered. "I'm calling Wilson."

"House, there's only one bed in the room. Do you realize how wrong that seems?"

"Not to invite him to sleep with me, dumbass. To order something on pay per view while getting totally wasted."

"Fine," Cuddy told him. "But if you end up getting drunk, you are not setting foot in my house until you're sobered up and your hangover is completely gone. The last thing I need is for Rachel to be around THAT."

"Hey!" House moaned. "You have no problem that I take Vicodin around her, yet you…"

"You what?" Cuddy exclaimed. "I thought we had an agreement. You could have my hand in marriage if you didn't take Vicodin. Please tell me you haven't done it since you've proposed to me."

"Fine," House muttered. "I haven't done it since I've proposed to you" he said in a fake tone.

"You know what, House? I don't give a shit what you do. Get yourself completely wasted for all I care, but you are not welcome in my house anymore. Also, you are not to speak to Rachel at all or speak to me about non business related manners." She sighed. "I thought you had changed, but I guess I was right when I said that you could never change, even if you wanted to. I'm sorry, House. The wedding is off and we're done."

"Please…no!" he pleaded. "Don't do this! I'm not taking them like I used to. I only take one or two pills when I'm in pain."

"House, this is like letting a recovered alcoholic have a glass of wine here and there. Your addiction can easily spiral out of control at any moment and I refuse to subject both myself and Rachel to this. Face it, this relationship was just never meant to be."

"Cuddy…don't do this. I'll…I'll kill myself if you break up with me."

"Don't do this to me, House!"

"I'm dead serious, no pun intended"

"Look, House, if you truly are feeling suicidal, I'll get you in touch with a help hotline. But we're through and I don't see there being any chance of us getting back together again."

"Cuddy, don't you think you're overreacting?"

"No!" Cuddy said. "You're an addict. Your stupid drug is more important than any potential relationship that you and I could have. I'll call the hotline for you and give them your number. For your sake, I hope you pick up."

"Cuddy, please…wait…"

"Goodbye, House" she said as she hung up. House just sat there still dazed by what had just happened. He didn't want to believe it; no, he couldn't believe it. He and Cuddy were officially over…AGAIN!


	11. Chapter 11

**SCENE 1:**

House sat in silence for a few minutes before he picked up his cell and dialed a familiar number. "Dr. Wilson" the voice on the other end answered.

"Valentino's. Meet me there in 20 minutes."

"Why House? Why you would call me up at 11 at night to ask me to go to a bar across town and…wait a minute…aren't you supposed to be on a date with Cuddy?" Wilson asked with extreme skepticism.

"Aren't you supposed to be on a date with your left hand?" House shot back.

"Must you make wildly inappropriate comments for everything I say and do?"

"As a matter a fact, yes. Now get ready mamma's boy!"

"House, I…" Wilson started to say, but House had already hung up. House stared at his phone while planning out his next move. The thing he was contemplating to do next was probably stupid and would end up make things worse, but when did Greg House ever take the road of least resistance? After assuring himself it was best to take the risk, he picked up his phone and called Rachel.

"Hello," she answered after the 2nd ring.

"Is Cuddy there?" House asked.

"Hey, House! No, she's in the bathroom and told me to wait in the lobby area" Rachel told him. "She looked pretty upset after she got off the phone with you. Is everything ok between you two?"

"No, that's why I'm calling, dummy!"

"What'd you do this time?" she moaned.

"What is it a Cuddy family tradition to automatically blame everything on the ever-so hot Diagnostic doctor before hearing what actually happened?"

"Sorry," Rachel muttered. "So, what did happen?"

"You know how I sometimes take Vicodin, right?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, your stubborn-ass mom broke up with me because she said I'm not allowed to take it to help alleviate my pain."

"You guys broke up? What about the engagement? The wedding? I was supposed to be the flower girl!" Rachel whined.

"It's nice to know that the only reason why you're so upset is because you won't be a flower girl anymore."

"No, that's not true and you know it!" Rachel shouted back. "I'm upset because you and mommy seemed so happy together and now everything's ruined. "

"That's why I'm calling" House said. "I need you to talk your mom into taking me back. Do whatever it takes. Trick her, manipulate her. I don't give a damn."

"What's in it for me?" Rachel asked slyly.

"Glad to see some of me rubbed off on you too" House commented. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"The lastest iPhone" Rachel answered without hesitation.

"Fine," House agreed after an uncomfortably long pause. "You have one week to get us back together and re-engaged or else the deal is off."

"Ok," Rachel said. "I'll try. Listen, I got to go. Mommy's coming"

"Ok," he said. "And Rachel? This conversation; it never happened!" And with that he hung up.

**Scene 2:**

"Rachel, who was that?" Cuddy asked as she walked over to Rachel.

"Nobody" Rachel lied. "I was just checking my voicemail."

"Rachel, don't lie to me" Cuddy snapped.

"I'm not lying" Rachel said. "Look, can we just go home, please? I'm really tired." Cuddy sighed.

"Fine. But if I find out that you are indeed lying, I'm taking away all phone, TV and computer privileges for a week." Rachel nodded. "Ok, let's go." Rachel obediently followed. She wanted to act extra good so her mom wouldn't suspect anything when she tried to get her and House back together.

"You're awfully quiet" Cuddy noted on the car ride home.

"Just tired" Rachel muttered as she stared out the window.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that mysterious phone call, would it?" Rachel shook her head. "Contrary to popular belief, I am not an idiot. I can tell whenever you're lying to me. Just keep that in mind."

"Fine," Rachel moaned. "But can you please just drop it? I'm really not in a talkative mood right now."

"Ok, then I'll talk and you'll listen" Cuddy stated. She paused for a second and then continued after Rachel's lack of response. "I was talking with Samantha's mom before and she mentioned that you don't really socialize much in school."

"I talk at lunch and sometimes participate in class. Everything's fine, mommy."

"I know it's not. I wish you would tell me what's on your mind." Rachel sighed.

"I made a promise not to tell anyone."

"Rachel, some promises are meant to be broken. I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

"I don't need your help" Rachel said. "I'm fine and I just want to be left the fuck alone!"

"Watch your mouth!"

"Sorry," she muttered. "I just really don't want to talk about anything. I'm exhausted and can't think straight."

"Fair enough," Cuddy said. "But expect to talk about this first thing tomorrow morning." Rachel nodded. She wasn't happy with that response, but at least she now had time to think up a plan for Operation Hook-up while coming up with an effective cover-up strategy. She mused for a few minutes before the idea of all ideas hit her square in the face.

**Scene 3:**

House was sitting at a table in Valentino's with Wilson. "So let me get this straight," Wilson began. "You bribed a 12 year old girl with an iPhone so she'd play matchmaker with you and Cuddy?" House took a big gulp from his beer mug and nodded with a smug expression on his face. "I don't know which is more stupid; that or telling Cuddy that you've recently taken Vicodin around Rachel." House was about to respond when his phone rang. He picked it up.

"I'm sorry, this number does not accept calls from idiots at this time. Please try again later."

"House! It's me" Rachel whispered. "Listen, I can't talk long. Mommy is in the shower and I don't know how long she'll be in for."

"Then why are you whispering?" House sassily asked. "I doubt Cuddy has such great hearing that she can hear you over the shower water. But if she does, give her a wolf-whistle for me."

"Whatever, House!" Rachel said in a louder tone of voice. "Anyway, I'm calling to tell you that I've come up with a master plan to get you and mommy back together."

"You better have come up not with just _A_ master plan but _THE_ master plan in order to get away with interrupting boys night out."

"Believe me, I did. So, anyway, what you have to do is write a letter to mommy saying how sorry you are. Tell her that you want to stop taking your medicine more than anything else in the world, but you need her help in order to do so. Then, tell her how much you love her and me, of course. Tell her that you're not perfect. In fact, you are far from it, but you are still willing to do whatever it takes to earn her trust back."

"Yeah, that sounds good" House said. "Why don't you type that up for me, stick it in an envelope mail it to yourself so she thinks it's from me."

"No, you have to write it. It won't work if I write it" Rachel tried to explain. "Look, it's your best shot at getting engaged to her again. And you better listen to what I say because I want that new iPhone you promised me."

"Woah, kid! You work for me which means I call the shots, not you."

"Hey, I lied to mommy on the way home for you and was forced to listen to her lecture about why it's bad to lie and keep secrets! The least you could do is give what I have to say a try. Please? If you're not going to do it for yourself then will you at least do it for me?"

"No, instead why don't you come up with a better plan?" House shot back as he hung up. Rachel hung up her phone and sighed as she fell backwards onto her bed. At this moment, everything in her life seemed hopeless. Rachel wanted nothing more than for the pain to go away and to feel in control of things once more. Rachel knew she couldn't purge because Cuddy still stood by the door every time she went into the bathroom. She needed to think of something more discreet.

Cutting! She would go back to cutting herself. There was no way Cuddy could hear her slicing away at her own skin and she'd do it in a place where the scars would be easy to hide. Rachel jumped off her bed and opened the door, suddenly stopping dead in her tracks. Cuddy was standing right there with her arms folded and her eyes narrowed. Rachel gave her a nervous smile and tried to walk past, but Cuddy grabbed her by the arm, dragged her over to her bed and forcefully sat her down.

"Phone" she curtly said as she placed her hand out. Rachel gave a look of pure bewilderment. "Phone!" Cuddy repeated in a more aggravated tone.

"Huh, but why?" Rachel asked, fearing what her mom's answer was going to be.

"I know about your little deal with House. Wilson txted me a few minutes ago and I heard the tail end of your conversation which confirmed everything for me" Cuddy explained. Rachel just stared at the ground nervously. "You lied to me; now give me your phone." Begrudgingly, Rachel handed it over. "You've also lost all TV and computer privileges for a week except for homework purposes, which I will strictly monitor. But, seriously, I can't believe that you would go behind my back to do something like this and then lie straight to my face about it!"

"But I…"

"Shut up!" Cuddy yelled. "I don't want to hear it. You have 10 minutes to get ready for bed and have your lights turned out. If you don't comply, I will add another week onto your punishment." She stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her before Rachel had a chance to say anything.

10 minutes later, Rachel was in bed with the lights out and, like clock-work, Cuddy came in and checked on her. After making sure that Rachel was indeed in bed, Cuddy shut the door promptly behind her. Rachel was pissed at both House and her mom. She didn't even care about the iPhone anymore. All she cared about was the fact that the only two people in the world she thought she could rely on now hated her. Tears fell from Rachel's face as her body began to shake. Rachel began to hyperventilate and the room started spinning. She wanted to scream out for help, but was afraid her mom would get mad if she did. So Rachel suffered in silence until a high-pitched shriek accidently slipped out of her mouth. Rachel felt like the whole world was closing in on her. She heard her door pop open and then felt someone sit down on the bed next to her.

"Shh! It's ok, sweetheart!" she heard Cuddy say in a soft soothing voice. Cuddy lightly stroked Rachel's back. "Relax! Try and take slow deep breaths." After a minute or so Rachel's breathing had slowed down and she turned towards Cuddy. "You had a panic attack" Cuddy told her. "It's not dangerous in the least, but I do think we need to talk."

"I'm sorry," Rachel muttered. "You must hate me right now and I can't say I blame you. I hate myself right now."

"Don't say that!" Cuddy told her. "You're a wonderful girl. And I'm sorry too for overreacting. I know you were just obeying House's orders and I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at him, however, for dragging you into this mess. You don't deserve to be put through that." She handed Rachel her phone. "You can have this back along with your computer and TV privileges, but if you lie to me again then the punishment is going into effect, understand?" Rachel nodded.

"I'm sorry!"

"Don't be" Cuddy said as she pulled Rachel close to her. Rachel placed her head on Cuddy's shoulder and sobbed as Cuddy lightly stroked her hair. After a couple of minutes, Rachel pulled away and looked Cuddy straight in the eyes.

"You're going to hate me for this but, before I knew you were standing outside my door, I was ready to cut myself again. I just couldn't take the stress of playing matchmaker for House and keeping it all a secret from you. But I didn't want to disappoint anyone. I just wanted everything to work out perfectly and to have a mom and dad like all the other kids at school but, I don't know, I guess I was stupid for thinking that I could magically fix things."

"Do you still want to cut yourself?" Cuddy asked in a concerned manner. Rachel shook her head. "Good!" Cuddy responded. "And you're not stupid for thinking that. It's normal for a child to want both a mom and a dad and you had your hopes up only to have them crushed by House's idiocy." Rachel sighed and glanced down at her comforter. "What is it?" Cuddy asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Why are you mad at House for taking prescription medicine for his pain? You let me have pain medicine in the hospital after I got beaten up. Remember?"

"That's different" Cuddy said.

"How?"

"You followed the doctors instructions on how many to take and when to take them. House never once did that." Cuddy paused for a moment before continuing. "Do you know what an addict is?" Rachel nodded.

"Yeah, we learned about drug addiction in health class last year."

"Well, House is a drug addict."

"But he doesn't do weed or meth or anything like that. So how can he be an addict?"

"Just because a drug is legal, doesn't mean it isn't addictive" Cuddy explained. "Look at alcohol. That's considered a drug and it's legal for anyone 21 or older."

"True," Rachel said. "I guess that makes sense. But why can't you help him? After all, you have medical training. What do you have against him?" Cuddy sighed.

"I didn't want to tell you this, Rachel, but 10 years ago House took too much Vicodin and was mad at me for breaking up with him, so he drove his car through the wall of our home." Rachel's mouth dropped. This didn't sound like the House she knew and loved.

"Where was I?"

"At grandma's" Cuddy told her. "Anyway, this was after he had gone to rehab and therapy to try and cure his addiction. Then I gave him another chance just now and he failed. I hate to tell you this, but House is unfortunately beyond being helped."

"So, that's it? You're just going to give up like that?" Rachel shouted. "House needs your help and you're just going to walk away acting as if nothing is wrong? Don't you remember a few months ago when I was addicted to Xanax and the night I overdosed on the pills? You didn't just leave me there to die. No, you helped me through it. How is House's situation any different than mine? How is he any different than me, for that matter?"

"First off, you're my daughter. I'll do anything for you. House, on the other hand, is a former classmate and co-worker of mine. That's it! Also, you came to me and asked for help. I don't recall House ever doing that."

"But I'm not your flesh and blood. Face it! We don't even share one single strand of DNA!" Rachel argued. "I'm no closer to you biologically than House is."

"First off, the law says you're my daughter, regardless of any common DNA or lack of, for that matter. I love you like you were my real daughter" Cuddy told her. "Also, if House decides to come to me for help without any kind of outside influence, then I'll do my best to help him. Though, until then, things are over between me and House. I'm really sorry, Rachel, but the two of us are just going to have to accept that unfortunate fact and move on with our lives." Rachel just sat there, staring at the blue and green polka-dot pattern of her bed sheets. "Are you going to be ok for the rest of the night?" Cuddy asked. Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess I'm just going to have to be" Rachel said in a not-too-convincing tone.

"No, Rachel. It's ok to feel sad and angry. Holding it in and denying how you really feel is what caused you to hurt yourself in the first place. Let it out. Scream. Punch a pillow. I don't care." Rachel rapped her arms around Cuddy's neck and began to cry.

"I'm just mad at you for not helping House. I think we should work together and try to help him. He probably wants help, but is too ashamed to ask. That's why we have to be proactive by going to help him without him asking."

"I'll sleep on it; how about that?"

"Fair enough!" Rachel responded. "Just as long as you have an open-mind about it." Cuddy nodded.

"I promise you that I will." Rachel smiled.

"I'm feeling fine now, but I am kind of tired. Do you mind if I just go to sleep now?" Cuddy nodded as she stood up.

"Of course" she said as she walked towards the door. "Come get me if you need anything." Cuddy opened the door and shut it behind her. Rachel laid her head back and closed her fatigued eyes.

**Scene 4:**

House awoke the next day with a throbbing headache. He sat up, rubbing his aching head and looked around. He was back on the couch of his and Wilson's apartment. House looked at the clock on the coffee table next to him. Crap! He had slept until 1pm and he had to be at work by 9am. "Screw it!" House thought to himself. "I'm calling in sick!" He called up the hospital.

"Hello, Dr. Forman."

"I'm sick. _Cough! Cough!_" House faked. "I'm not going to be coming in this weekend."

"And you waited until 4 hours after your shift started to tell me this?"

"Hey, at least I called" House whined. "And I expect compensation for these two days off. Oh, I know. How about a month of no clinic duty?"

"House it doesn't work like that!" Forman said, getting extremely agitated. "You are not getting compensation for two sick days that you decided to take off. And you're not getting paid for them either."

"But…"

"Goodbye, House!" Forman hung up. Normally House would have called Cuddy and tried to get her to make some sort of deal with Forman (which she never did, by the way), but he knew that he couldn't do that now. She was the reason he had a hangover, in the first place, and couldn't make it into work. After getting dressed and washed up, House decided to call Rachel in order to see if she came up with anymore ideas regarding getting both him and Cuddy back together.

"Hello," Rachel answered.

"Hey kiddo! It's me." House said. "You better have conjured up a brilliant plan to get Cuddy and me back together."

"Um…yeah, mommy said that she doesn't want me talking to you anymore" Rachel nervously explained.

"And how did she find out about our conversations?"

"Wilson txted her" Rachel explained. "I swear! I didn't say anything." That was it! House was going to kill Wilson the second he got home.

"Is Cuddy around?"

"No. She ran out to the grocery store to pick up some things."

"Good, than there's no need for her to find out about this conversation. With that said, get talking, missy."

"I'm sorry, House, but I don't feel comfortable going behind mommy's back. I've put her through more than enough lately" Rachel explained. "If you have anything else to say, call her and not me!" Rachel said, hanging up the phone.

"Damn it!" House muttered under his breath. "Why is everyone hanging up on me today?" The last person on House's calling list was Wilson.

"Dr. Wilson; Oncology"

"Wilson, call Cuddy and tell her to stop by my place."

"First of all technically it's my place since I'm the one who pays the rent each month" Wilson shot back. "And second of all, I'm not getting involved in your relationship drama."

"Pussy," House muttered. "Call Cuddy up!"

"No!"

"God damn it Wilson! Call Cuddy up!" House yelled. "Call her! Call her! Call her! Call her! Call…"

"If I call her, will you hang up the phone and leave me alone?"

"Yes," House said. "Tell her to come over around 3 today and that she can bring the little brat of hers if she wants."

"House, I don't think Cuddy would appreciate you calling her daughter…"

"Call her! Call her! Call…"

"Okay, I'm calling!" Wilson said as he furiously hung up the phone.

**Scene 5:**

Rachel was sitting at the kitchen table, working on an English essay, when Cuddy walked through the front door. "Rachel, I have a lot of packages in the car. Can you give me a hand?"

"Sure" Rachel said as she got up and went to help her mom. After everything was out of the car and put away, Rachel sat back down to finish her essay. "Mommy?" Cuddy looked up. "Have you ever read 'Lord of the Flies'?" Cuddy nodded.

"Why?"

"I have to write an essay about it and I don't understand what's going on in the book."

"When's it due?"

"Monday," Rachel answered.

"When'd you get the assignment?"

"Yesterday," Rachel said. "We started reading the book about a week and a half ago and we have to write a 2-3 page essay saying what we would do if we were put in that situation. I don't even know what the situation is!"

"I'll help you in a little bit. Ok sweetie?"

"Sure, I'll just work on something else for now" Rachel responded. "Let's see, I have 20 math problems, I have to fill in a map of the U.S., House called me before and I have to read …"

"Hold on!" Cuddy interjected. "When did House call you?"

"While you were at the store. I told him that he wasn't allowed to talk to me and then I hung up on him."

"Good," Cuddy told her. "What'd he say?"

"He wants me to play matchmaker and told me that and I quote, 'better have conjured up a brilliant plan'."

"And that's when you told him not to talk to you?" Rachel nodded. "Good. I'm proud of you, sweetie." Cuddy told her. "How long have you been working on your homework?" she asked, trying to change the subject and take Rachel's mind off things.

"About an hour."

"Why don't you take a break and go walk Sophie around the block?"

"Ok!" Rachel exclaimed as she jumped up and went to find Sophie. As soon as Rachel and Sophie had left, Cuddy called House.

"House's house of…"

"What the hell were you thinking?" Cuddy shouted into the phone.

"Let's see. I was just thinking about how hot you'd look in a pink push-up bra with matching lace thongs and…"

"You know what I mean!" Cuddy said in a slow, but livid tone. "Why the hell did you call Rachel?"

"The little brat told you?"

"Don't you dare call her…"

"Oh, relax, Cuddy" House told her. "I was just joking. Rachel doesn't care whether or not I tease her, so there's no reason why you should either."

"Do you even know how upset you made Rachel last night? She wanted to cut herself again after getting off the phone with you! The girl has been through more than enough and I don't need you adding onto her already generous supply of agony." Cuddy was practically screaming by now.

"Look is there a point to this conversation because Doctor Who is on in three minutes?"

"You know what? Watch your precious little show. Apparently that's more important than Rachel's well-being. And to think I was stupid enough to believe that you actually gave a damn about her."

"Cuddy, I…" House started to say.

"Don't you dare say that you actually do care about her because I know you're just trying to lie your way back into this relationship. You know what? I don't even know why I bothered to call you. It's not even like I can reason with your stubborn ass!"

"So, I was thinking I could move my stuff into your place tomorrow."

"Goodbye, House!" Cuddy said. She was about to hang up when House began to speak.

"Look, Cuddy. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I'm trying really hard, but I suck at relationships. Ok? And if you never want to forgive me or speak to me again, that's fine, but don't you dare put words into my mouth and say that I don't care about Rachel." Cuddy was speechless. House was actually being sincere for once.

"Fine, I forgive you, for Rachel's sake" Cuddy curtly said. "But I won't ever forget. Maybe we'll make it as a couple and maybe we won't. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Let's just take it slow for now and just be friends. No commitments or anything of the sort."

"Well, at least it's a start" House said. "So, is Rachel doing ok now?"

"Yeah," Cuddy responded. "She's taking Sophie out for a walk now."

"That's good. I'll talk to you later, I guess."

"Better yet," Cuddy said in a more cheerful tone. "Why don't you come over here for dinner tonight? Say 6pm?"

"It's a date" House answered.

"It certainly is!"


	12. Chapter 12

**SCENE 1:**

"Mommy, I need to talk to you about something" Rachel announced while Cuddy was preparing dinner for when House came over.

"Can it wait a couple of minutes?" Cuddy asked, not even bothering to look up. "I just want to get the roast into the oven."

"So much for 'I'll be available any time day or night if you ever need to talk' my ass" Rachel muttered.

"Rachel!" Cuddy shouted as Rachel stormed out of the kitchen. "Rachel, get back here this instant!" Rachel ignored her. She wanted to tell her mom about the how her therapy sessions weren't helping. Rachel knew that she was probably overreacting about her mom being busy, yet she seemed to be unable to control her emotions and couldn't help but quickly burst into tears over the littlest of things; which was yet another thing she wanted to talk to her mom about. Despite being aware of all this, Rachel ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

"Hmm. Cut, overdose or puke?" Rachel silently contemplated. After a moment's consideration, she opened up the medicine cabinet in the bathroom to reveal a full bottle of Aspirin and a half-empty bottle of Vicodin that House had evidently left behind. Rachel grabbed both bottles and was about to open the bottle of Vicodin when she heard a pounding on the other side of the door.

"Rachel! Open the door up this instant!" Cuddy shouted. Rachel ignored her and opened both of the medication bottles. "Rachel, I swear, if you don't open this door right now, I will unscrew the hinges off of both this door and your bedroom door. Do you understand me?" Rachel was tossing the pills into her hand and shoving them into her mouth as she listened to her mom go on her angry tirade. She then stuck her mouth underneath the steady stream of water coming down from the sink faucet in order to make the pills easier to swallow. "Rachel. I'm going to count to 10. If you're not out here by the time I get to 10, than there is going to be hell." Rachel quickly shoved more and more pills down her throat as Cuddy began to count. _1…2…3…_ There! The Vicodin was polished off. _4…5…6…_ Almost done with the Aspirin. _7…8…_Last handful! _9…_Rachel ran towards the door and unlocked it. Rachel opened the door, just as her mom was saying _10. _"What the hell has gotten into you?" Cuddy asked as she pushed her way past Rachel. "You can't just…" Then her eyes fell on the empty bottles. Cuddy shook her head in disbelief. "Rachel, please tell me you didn't. Oh, crap! You did!" Cuddy said not waiting for her to answer. "It looks like I'm going to have to call the ambulance YET again. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I wanted to die and I didn't want you to stop me so I could be successful at something for once in my pathetic life!" Rachel shouted. After Cuddy got off the phone, she gave Rachel a large thermos filled with water.

"I want you to drink all of this. And you are going to the Intensive Care Program as soon as your stomach is pumped and the doctor clears you to go. This time you have absolutely no say in the matter!" Rachel glared at her. "Seriously? Suicide, Rachel? I know you've been through a lot lately, but you know better. I would have been done in two minutes and you know perfectly well that if you said it was an emergency, I would have stopped what I was doing immediately. I've told you that countless times." Rachel took a big gulp from the thermos.

"Why won't you just let me die?" Rachel asked. "It's not like you'd be losing anything other than unnecessary stress."

"Rachel, do you not know how much you mean to me? Do you not know how much I love you?"

"How can you love me when I don't even love myself? How can you want me to live when I don't even want to live myself?" Rachel struggled to hold back tears as she said this.

"Because, through all the anger and the hurt, I see a brilliant, beautiful girl waiting to emerge and I want to help that girl break free!"

"Didn't think you were into all of the theological stuff" Rachel said sarcastically.

"You know what Rachel? You can yell, scream and curse at me all you want. If that's what it'll take to make you feel better about yourself then do it until you're blue in the face because I honestly don't know how to help you anymore." Cuddy said with extreme frustration.

"You want to help me?" Rachel sneered. "Then let me die!"

"Never!" Cuddy said. "You may have given up on yourself, but I sure as hell haven't given up on you!"

"You just said that you didn't know how to help me anymore."

"That doesn't mean I won't do everything within my power to find a way" Cuddy protested. "Whatever it takes, Rachel. Whatever it takes!" Rachel rolled her eyes.

"What the hell is taking the ambulance so long?" Rachel wondered aloud. "The last time you called they were here in 5 minutes. Guess I really am insignificant to the rest of the world." Cuddy sighed.

"Rachel, I have a confession to make. I didn't call."

"So you do want me to die?" Rachel shouted. "You…"

"No!" Cuddy interrupted. "And those weren't real pills. They were placebos; fake pills" Cuddy explained.

"But the Vicodin…" Rachel started to say.

"Was an empty prescription bottle that House had. He got it filled with placebos at the hospital and gave them to me along with the Aspirin bottle in case you ever did try to OD again."

"So you tricked me? Why?" Rachel asked with extreme hurt.

"Because I want you to get help. I'm not a Psychiatrist. I don't know how to deal with this sort of thing."

"So you do think I'm crazy" Rachel concluded. "Nice to know that my own mother thinks I'm a mental freak!"

"I don't think that" Cuddy protested. "You probably have a mental disorder, which is nothing to be ashamed of. Believe me I'd be surprised if you didn't at least have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after everything you've been through."

"Post Stress what?"

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" Cuddy repeated more slowly. "It's very common for people to have that after going through horrible things like you have."

"So now what?" Rachel asked. "Now what do we do?"

"We sit down and we talk. The roast is in the oven so I'm all yours for the next 45 minutes." Rachel nodded.

"Um…can we talk somewhere other than in the bathroom?" Cuddy laughed.

"Of course! Let's go into the living room." Rachel followed Cuddy out and sat down on the couch next to her. "So what did you want to talk to me about?" Rachel took a deep breath.

"First off, I just want to say I'm sorry" Rachel began. Cuddy leaned forward.

"For?" she asked with an innate curiosity.

"The thing is, I mean Carol is nice and all, but she doesn't really seem to be helping me at all. I feel like it's just a waste of time and money if I keep going there."

"I'm glad you told me" Cuddy said. "These things don't always work out the first time around. I can try and find someone else for you." Rachel sighed. "What is it, Rachel? What else is going on?"

"I don't think anyone can help me" Rachel confessed. "Not unless they can give me a butt load of Xanax to calm me down enough to actually get to sleep for once."

"You're having trouble sleeping?" Rachel nodded.

"My thoughts are racing. I can't keep up with them most of the time and then I lose control over all of my emotions. It's like I'm not even myself, like I'm watching a movie of myself when I act out. That doesn't even make any sense, does it?"

"No, it does" Cuddy assured her. "Maybe a therapist isn't the right move. I can look into a Psychiatrist. They might be able to give you something to help calm you down."

"You're a doctor. Why can't you give me something?" Rachel asked.

"I'm no longer practicing" Cuddy explained. "Besides, I don't know much about Psychological Disorders and thus don't feel comfortable prescribing that sort of medication."

"Am I going to have to go to the hospital?" Rachel nervously asked.

"You did try to kill yourself" Cuddy said. "I'm worried about you. I mean what if those had been real pills and I wasn't home? You could be dead and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened." Tears filled her eyes. Rachel leaned forward and placed her hand on her mom's shoulder.

"It's ok, mommy."

"No, it's not ok!" Cuddy shouted causing Rachel to recoil in both surprise and fear. "You're suffering and I don't know how to help you. I don't want you to have to go to an inpatient program, but you can't go and hurt yourself every time you get into an argument with someone. You yourself said that you aren't in control of your emotions anymore."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. "I'm sorry for making you feel this way."

"Then say you'll at least give the program a chance. Give it a week. If you still hate it, than you can leave. Can you at least do that for me, sweetie?" Rachel shrugged her shoulders. Cuddy stood up. "I give up! No matter what I say, it's wrong. Just get your act together for when House comes over. I'll be in the kitchen." She began to walk away when she suddenly stopped and pivoted around. "You're not going to try and kill yourself again now that we had another argument, are you?" Cuddy added bitterly. Rachel shook her head. "I don't trust you. Come into the kitchen where I can keep an eye on you." Rachel nodded as she stood up. "And I'm picking you up from school from now on and bringing you to the office with me every day until you decide to go into the program."

"So you're blackmailing me?"

"No, I'm trying to do what's best for you because you obviously have no idea what that is!" Cuddy practically screamed at her.

"And like you do?" Rachel sassily asked.

"Yes, I do!" Cuddy answered curtly. "Now follow me!"

**SCENE 2:**

House arrived at 6:25pm. "How nice of you to be fashionably late, House" Cuddy joked.

"Would you expect any different of me?" Cuddy shook her head as she motioned for him to follow her.

"Dinner's almost ready. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Ginger Ale with ice" House said as he sat down and made himself comfortable. "So where's the little pipsqueak?" House asked Cuddy as she poured him his drink and placed it onto the table in front of him.

"In her room refusing to talk to me" Cuddy blatantly answered. "She took the placebos, House. She told me she wanted to die." Tears started to form in Cuddy's eyes. "I don't know what to do!" Cuddy sat down at the table, across from House, and buried her face into her hands.

"Can you at least tell me what happened?" After a moment's hesitation, Cuddy was able to calm down enough to tell House the harrowing events that had transpired just a few moments earlier.

"What am I doing wrong?" Cuddy sobbed as she concluded her story.

"Quit blaming yourself Cuddy" House said in an almost annoyed tone of voice. "You know perfectly well that this isn't your fault. Bring Rachel to PPTH for an outpatient psychiatric evaluation and get yourself a diagnosis so you know what you're dealing with. After all, you don't know her biological parents histories. They could both be Schizophrenics' for all you and I know."

"Her birth mom did drink and do drugs during the early part of her pregnancy" Cuddy reasoned aloud. "Maybe there's some sort of brain damage that's just beginning to show itself now. I'll take her to a neurologist to rule out anything physical and then, if everything appears normal, take her to a psychiatrist. I just don't know what to do until then. How do I keep her from hurting herself in the meantime?"

"She didn't hurt herself at all while we were engaged" House pointed out. "And she didn't start up again until you broke up with me."

"So what are you saying, House? Fake an engagement just so Rachel won't hurt herself?"

"It might just be crazy enough to work" House said.

"No, I am not going to deliberately lie to my daughter and get her hopes up, just to have her crash and burn all over again" Cuddy adamantly told him. "If we do that than she won't trust either one of us and we're all she has, other than Sophie, of course. But I am not going to have her dog be the only one in her life that she can trust."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Doing nothing is better than doing your idea" Cuddy shot back. "I'm going to go get Rachel. She probably doesn't even know you're here." House nodded as she got up. As soon as Cuddy left the room, he put his feet onto the table and leaned back in his chair, shutting his eyes.

**SCENE 3:**

"Mm…Mommy this roast is amazing" Rachel said once they were all seated around the table. "You should cook more often!"

"Thank you" Cuddy said. "And I would cook more if I had the time."

"Someone's eating like a little piglet over there" House commented as he glanced over at Rachel who was in the process of grabbing a second piece of meat. She immediately put it back causing Cuddy to give him the look of death. But House was on a roll. He wasn't going to stop for anything. "You're eating an awful lot for a supposed anorexic." Rachel glanced down at the floor.

"House! Shut it!" Cuddy shouted before turning her attention to Rachel. "Anyway, Rachel, I'm glad you like it. It's actually a VERY lean cut of meat and is loaded with a lot of protein, which is essential for muscle growth" She turned back to House and gave him an ice-cold stare.

"What? All I'm saying is how do we know that she wasn't _pretending_ to be anorexic solely for the attention? And while we're on the topic, how do we also know…" Rachel stood up from the table and ran out of the kitchen with tears in her eyes.

"Get out, House! Now!" Cuddy bellowed as she ran after Rachel.

"Come on, Cuddy! It was just a joke. Lighten up already" he shouted after her. After hearing no response, House got up and limped out of the kitchen. He heard Cuddy's voice coming through Rachel's bedroom door, which was shut. House walked over and placed his ear up against the door.

"I am so sorry, sweetie" he heard Cuddy say in a soothing voice. "Had I known House was going to be such a jerk tonight, I never would have invited him over."

"What did I do wrong, mommy?" Rachel asked in between sobs. "I thought House loved me. What did I do to make him stop loving me?"

"Nothing, sweetheart. Absolutely nothing" Cuddy assured her. "Hey, why don't we go back into the kitchen and finish eating? I bought your favorite for desert; Apple Pie."

"No thanks" Rachel muttered. "I've eaten too much already."

"Hold on a second, Rachel" Cuddy said. He heard footsteps and then there was silence. Suddenly the door swung open. "House! What the hell? I thought I told you to leave!" Cuddy shouted.

"For what it's worth, Rachel, I'm really sorry" he called out.

"Get out, House!" Cuddy shouted. "I was such an idiot for letting you come over tonight and I hate myself for it."

"Cuddy, I…"

"I don't want to hear it!" she said as she waved her hand in the air. "Get the hell off my property!" House stood there for a minute in utter shock. Then, something in him snapped. He leaned in and kissed her, fully expecting her to kiss back. Instead, she immediately pulled away and slapped him across the face. "How dare you!"

"How dare I? Don't you think you're overreacting? What I said before was stupid, ok. But you know me. When I insult others, I'm usually just joking around. And if you would just give me half a chance, I'll make it up to you both."

"Blah, blah, blah" Cuddy said. "That's all I hear coming from you right now. Stop making promises that you know you're never going…"

"Give me a chance, Cuddy! Give me a fucking chance!"

"I've given you multiple chances you jackass and you've managed…"

"Will you guys stop fighting?" they heard Rachel shout. She got up and walked over to the bickering pair. "Mommy, please don't kick House out" she said looking up at Cuddy. "And House, why did you say that before? Do you really think I'm fat?" Rachel placed her hand on her hip.

"Answer her" Cuddy sneered.

"No," House said. "No, I don't think you're fat. I think you look healthy."

"Then why'd you tell me I was eating too much?"

"I never said that" House protested. "I said you were eating like a little piglet. I was just trying to make light of everything you've been through lately, but apparently…"

"I appreciate what you were trying to do, House, but can you please not do that again?" Rachel asked. House nodded.

"Sorry, kiddo! Won't happen again. I promise." Rachel smiled.

"Thank you! Now can you two please stop yelling and insulting one another and try to go back to being friends?"

"I'm willing to try if you are" Cuddy said as she looked at House.

"Same," he said.

"Mommy, can we go for a walk together? The three of us?" Rachel asked, hoping to build the peace between the pair.

"I don't think that would be the best thing for House's leg, sweetie" Cuddy told Rachel.

"No, it's fine!" House assured Cuddy. He turned towards Rachel. "But just a short one, ok?" Rachel nodded.

"Great. Can I bring Sophie?"

"Sure," Cuddy said. "But you're walking her." Rachel eagerly nodded.

"Speaking of Sophie, I haven't seen her all night. Where is the little rascal?" House asked as he leaned on his cane.

"In the backyard" Cuddy answered. "Rachel, put Sophie on her leash and bring her out front through the gate. Oh, and don't forget to lock it behind you."

"Ok!" Rachel squealed as she ran off to do just that.

**SCENE 4:**

It took some time but, over the next few months, House and Cuddy slowly rebuilt their relationship. Sure they had fights here and there, but none of them were even remotely close to any of their previous fights.

One day, in late August, House and Cuddy were sitting on Cuddy's back patio while Rachel was over at Samantha's place. House was talking about who won the top three prizes for the most idiotic patients of the week. Cuddy was only half listening as he started talking about a guy who swallowed two AA batteries on a dare. "And that was only the second place winner, Cuddles" House announced. "Wait until you hear who won first prize for Princeton Plainsboro and possibly New Jersey's biggest idiot. So the guy…Cuddy are you even listening to me?" Her head immediately snapped up.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Cuddy asked, attempting to give House her full attention.

"Never mind that. I want to hear what's so interesting in Cuddy land that you completely ignored everything I've been saying for the past 5 minutes." Cuddy sighed. She had a burning question on the forefront of her mind for the past few weeks, but was waiting for the perfect time to bring it up. She took a sip of her iced-tea and then looked up at House.

"You and Rachel seem to be getting along well" she commented. "And the two of us seem to be getting along a lot better." House nodded, wondering where she was going with all this. "The thing is I've wanted to ask you something for a while now. I've given it a lot of thought to this matter." She paused for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. "I was wondering if you would want to become Rachel's legal guardian." House was very taken aback by this. Did she just seriously ask him this? He the guy who screwed up every relationship he ever had, including the one with his now deceased parents? House a dad? That thought alone just seemed unnatural. Cuddy placed her hand on House's. "If you don't want to, I understand. This is a huge commitment and I don't want to force you into doing anything that you don't feel comfortable doing." He glanced down towards the ground.

"Do you think I'd be a good father to Rachel? Aren't you afraid of me screwing things up beyond repair?" Cuddy moved her chair closer to his and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"When I took Rachel home from the hospital for the first time, I was worried sick about the same exact thing. I didn't know anything about being a mom and I was a single, working mom at that. Every night, I worried if I had made the right decision when it came to adopting Rachel. Then I realized how much we both needed one another. Did I make mistakes along the way? Of course I did, more than I can count. Did I mess up? Yes, but nothing that wasn't beyond repair. My point is, House that you will make mistakes and you might even mess up a few things, but every parent does. That's what makes us human." House looked up into Cuddy's sparkling blue eyes.

"I don't…" he started to say. Cuddy felt his body tense up.

"You don't what?" Cuddy asked as she leaned in closer.

"My father…I don't want to be like him."

"You're nothing like your father, House. You love Rachel and take such good care of her. I have faith that you won't make the same mistakes that he did." House nodded.

"So this legal custody thing, does this mean that we're going to both be Rachel's parents, but we aren't going to get married?" Cuddy nodded.

"Maybe someday we will. But we need to take things slow. Though, even if we stop loving each other, our love for Rachel will never die. Right?" House nodded in agreement.

"Right." He took Cuddy's hand into his own and gave it a light squeeze before letting it go.

"So is that a yes?"

"It is," House replied. "Does Rachel know about this?"

"She certainly does and she was right, too, when she told me that you would definitely say yes."

"She's one smart cookie!" They both chuckled and went back to their small talk.

**SCENE 5:**

Three months later, all of the legal papers were signed and Rachel was officially both House's and Cuddy's daughter. Although Cuddy and House weren't married, the three of them all lived under the same roof like a normal family did. House had just finished moving all his things out of his apartment, which pleased Wilson very much since he had found a new girlfriend named Emily. Rachel had also been recently been diagnosed with mild Bipolar disorder and was put on medication which seemed to be helping her immensely.

One morning, in the middle of November, Rachel woke up with a sore throat and a runny nose. She was worried because those were the same symptoms she had that previous February when she found out that Mark had given her Syphilis. Rachel doubted that it came back since she hadn't slept with anyone since then. Still, she wanted to run this by both her parents to make sure it wasn't anything serious. Rachel dragged herself out of bed, got dressed and walked into the kitchen where she saw the familiar scene of House cooking breakfast and Cuddy sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee while reading the morning paper.

"Morning," Rachel said in a hoarse voice. Cuddy looked up with a concerned expression on her face.

"Rachel, are you feeling ok?" she asked.

"I …I don't know"

"You don't know how you're feeling?" House joked. "Jeez, and here I thought you were an honors student." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"It's just a sore throat and runny nose" she said. "Nothing to be concerned about, right?" Cuddy got up and walked over to Rachel.

"I'm going to check your temperature just to be safe" she told Rachel. Cuddy went and got the thermometer out of one of the kitchen cabinets and handed it to Rachel. A minute later, it beeped. "100.2" Cuddy read. "Not too bad, but your definitely sick." She felt Rachel's glands and looked at her throat with a flashlight. "Everything appears to be normal. You probably just have a head cold. I'll give you some cold medicine and I want you to come straight home after school and rest. Got that?" Rachel nodded. "Good!" She got up and gave Rachel some cough medicine followed by a bag of cough drops to bring to school.

"So I can't get the day off, can I?"

"Not for a simple head cold" Cuddy said. "Sorry, but if I can go to work with a cold you can most definitely go to school with a cold." Rachel sighed as she nodded.

"Speaking of a day off…" House started to say.

"No!" Cuddy interjected. "I don't care what rare and exotic disease you claim that you have. You are going to work today and you are doing all of your clinic hours, even if I have to stand there and supervise you the entire time." Cuddy got up from the table.

"Where are you off to so early in the morning?"

"Unlike you, House, I don't have the luxury of strolling into work at 10am" Cuddy informed him for what was probably the thousandth time. "I have an 8:30am meeting that I'm running late for." She gave Rachel a quick kiss on the forehead. "Goodbye, sweetie. Feel better!"

"Thanks," Rachel said.

"What, no goodbye kiss for me?" House whined. Cuddy rolled her eyes, walked over and gave House a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Goodbye, House. I'll see you in the Clinic at 10am sharp. Don't be late." She grabbed her car keys and bag and was out the door.

"So what's for breakfast?" Rachel asked House.

"The usual" he said.

"Which is?"

"Scrambled eggs and toast."

"Yum" Rachel said. "Can I have cinnamon on my toast?"

"You want it, you put it on yourself."

"Ok!" Rachel exclaimed as she got the cinnamon. A minute later, the eggs and toast were done. Rachel sat down and enjoyed her breakfast. This time she wasn't going to try to throw it up. She hadn't done anything to hurt herself in over 2 months and it didn't look like she was going to try doing that sort of thing anymore. For once in Rachel Cuddy's life, things seemed to be looking up.

A/N: Thanks for reading my story and a special thanks to all of you who reviewed it. It's people like you who inspire me to keep writing. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this story and am a little sad to see that it's done. But that just means I'll have to write more stories! ;) I'm going to keep this as 'in progress' while I go back through all my chapters again and fix some grammatical/consistency errors. Just letting you guys know, in case any of you are signed up for story alerts, you may suddenly be getting a lot. Thanks again for reading and reviewing! I wish you all the best.


End file.
